BUTLER TWP — The Butler School District is again discussing if board members will consider applying for a state exception to raise property taxes above the state-mandated index for the 2017-18 school year.

During the finance committee meeting Monday night, board member Leland Clark presented a motion for discussion, to publicly resolve that the district will not raise real estate taxes above the maximum.

The motion, written by Clark, read: “The Board should take a stand and declare that they will not seek an exception to go above the index. By setting this limit, it forces the district to live within its means. The taxpayers and businesses in the district cannot afford a large tax increase.”

Each year, the state sets a maximum allowable property tax increase for school districts, and a school board votes to stay at, or below, that index or apply for an exception. If a district expects to raise taxes above the maximum, it must apply for the exception by January, according to Deborah Brandstetter, director of business services, said.

For the 2017-18 school year, the maximum increase is 3.3 percent of the current tax rate, which is 97.8 mills. Brandstetter said this means the maximum increase the district can approve without requiring a state-granted exception is 3.23 mills, bringing the tax rate to 101.03 mills.

A mill generates $1 in tax revenue for each $1,000 of a property's assessed value.

Brandstetter estimated this maximum increase would bring in an additional $1.3 million in real estate tax revenue for the next school year.

With six school board members at the finance committee meeting, the discussion split the members evenly, three against three.

Clark was joined by board members Neil Convery and Suzie Bradrick, who both oppose the possibility of raising taxes above the index.

Convery said, “I don't think there's a question for me: I would like to take that option off the table as we sit on a fund balance of about $10 million. I don't think it is the right thing to go to our neighbors and ask for higher taxes.”

On the other side were board members Nina Teff, John Conrad and Bill Halle, all of whom at least want to have the chance to look at a preliminary budget and financial data before agreeing to the suggested resolution.

Brandstetter will present a preliminary 2017-18 budget in December, including information on community poverty data, a capital projects forecast for the future, a three-year budget projection and staffing figures.

During a September board meeting, Teff stressed this discussion does not mean the board definitively will raise taxes above the maximum but will enable the board to make an educated decision about whether to apply for the exception.

Halle said he would support a large tax increase if it was a “targeted” increase that would address a specific district problem.

“I've always been on the side of the vote (saying) don't raise taxes,” Halle said. “But I've always said that if we had a targeted tax increase that would solve problems for the district with a long-term strategic plan, I would vote for it because it would be resolving things.”

Halle also said that even if the district applies for an exception and it is granted, the district is still not tied to raising taxes above the index. Being granted the exception would only allow for the possibility of a higher tax increase.

Teff said any vote on whether to seek an exception to raise property taxes above the maximum likely would come in December.