Fox Voices Opposition To Tax Cap Extending 3 Percent Limit To Schools Would Have Negative Effect, She Says
State Schools Superintendent Anne Fox said she opposes extending to public schools the 3 percent cap on annual increases in property tax-financed budgets.
“Hopefully, the governor will not cap the schools,” Fox said Wednesday. “By capping public schools, it really impacts our general fund in the areas that are growing. It would create a negative effect on public schools.”
If money is squeezed too tight, she said, schools already trying to cope with enrollment growth may be unable to comply with the constitutional requirement to provide students with a thorough education while also keeping school buildings safe.
During his remarks to the North Idaho Chamber of Commerce legislative tour on Monday, Republican Gov. Phil Batt said the GOP-controlled Legislature should consider House Democratic Floor Leader James Stoicheff’s proposal to extend the 3-percent cap to public schools.
House Speaker Michael Simpson, R-Blackfoot, said he wants to listen to the debate about extending the cap to schools, but he essentially supports the idea.
“You have to limit property taxes somehow. Right now, we have every other taxing district under the 3-percent cap,” he said. “I think there is a demand out there to do something about property taxes.”
Batt also said he probably will propose a constitutional amendment in January to tax properties of homeowners at a lower rate than other classes of properties and cap annual increases in property valuations.
Simpson said he would wait to see a formal proposal before commenting.
Fox said property taxes still need to be addressed by the Legislature, despite voters’ rejection of the One Percent Initiative. She took a neutral position on the ballot measure even though Batt and most other state officials - including the state Board of Education - opposed it.
She acknowledged that a slowing economy makes it more difficult to bring about change in the tax system. But Fox said she would ask lawmakers again to earmark a half-cent of the state sales tax to generate $57 million for public school buildings.