Vermilion County voters will decide next Tuesday whether they support a 1-percent increase in sales taxes to support local schools. The new revenue would be used exclusively for school facility purposes, school resource officers or mental health professionals to help students.
Seth Miller is Superintendent of the Westville Unit 2 School District….
{‘’The way I think about is right now schools in Vermilion County are largely funded based on property taxes, along with support they get from the state, and a little bit they get from the federal government. And on March 17th what voters will decide is whether or not they want to create an additional revenue stream through the sales tax to help support schools,’’ said Miller during an interview with VermilionCountyFirst.com News.}
Superintendent Miller notes the tax would only be on items currently subject to the state sales tax….
{‘’So the important thing to realize there is certain items – like non-prepared food, groceries, farm inputs, new cars, medicine – those items are not currently subject to sales tax through the state. There would be no sales tax increase on those items,’’ added the Westville Superintendent.}
Local school boards are the only ones who can decide how the new revenue is spent. And in the Westville District it is projected there would be $600-thousand dollars in annual new revenue. The Westville School Board has already passed a resolution stating its highest priority would be providing property tax relief. Other priorities in Westville include hiring new school resource officers and mental health professionals, and improving school facilities.
Superintendent Miller also noted that Vermilion County residents who spend money in Champaign County are currently supporting schools in that county….
{‘’You, if you’re a Vermilion County resident – you are paying that tax in Champaign County to support the Mahomet School District, the St. Joe School District in Tolono right now. And, by the flipside, when they come to see the Fischer Theatre in Danville, or the Balloons Over Vermilion, or the Sweet Corn Festival in Hoopeston, or the Labor Day Festival in Westville, and those out-of-county residents come to visit us – they don’t contribute back to our schools the way that our residents do when they visit other parts of the state,’’ added Miller.}
And if voters do not want to show their ‘’party colors’’ by requesting a Democrat or Republican ballot for the election – they can request only the ballot to vote on the school sales tax question.
On Thursday we will have a story focusing on opposition to the proposed school facility sales tax.
