Cape discusses new school tax rate

In response to the countywide property reassessment, the Cape school board will set a new school tax rate. The goal is to be revenue neutral. 

The district’s new proposed rate of $0.1681 per $100 of assessed value is equivalent to the old rate of $4.0282 per $100. The new rate will result in the same amount of revenue, said Jason Hale, the school district’s director of operations, at the board’s May 8 meeting. 

With some reassessment appeals still ongoing, the rate could fluctuate slightly, but it will likely stay about the same.

The proposal was set to be presented again at the board meeting May 22, and at the first meeting in July, before members take action.

Policy changes

The Cape school board discussed several board policies regarding discrimination, attendance and use of school facilities. 

The board voted to approve Policy 103, which consolidates several nondiscrimination policies into a single, unified policy, with a corresponding procedures policy. The goal is to ensure that all discrimination-related complaints – except those that fall under the Title IX Policy 116, which has unique guidelines to which the district must adhere – follow a standardized, streamlined process.

In turn, they voted to retire the individual policies that are now covered by the new unified policy.