Those living in McKenzie Special School District don’t have to worry about the school board raising taxes this coming year, after board members shut down a proposal during their meeting last Tuesday, February 3. However, the decision will force administrators to make several cuts in order to balance a budget that has outgrown the district’s current tax revenue.
The measure would have asked the state legislature to amend McKenzie Special School District’s private act, allowing the board the option to raise property taxes by up to 35 cents per $100 of assessed value if needed when they set the budget in June.
There seemed to be confusion among board members regarding the process.
Why Raise Taxes?
McKenzie Special School District faces a projected deficit of $434,000 for the 2026/2027 school year, and rising to $588,000 the following year.
“We can’t cut our way completely out of this deficit,” said Brad Davis, the district’s financial advisor. “We can cut some.”
Davis said that, at a minimum, property taxes would need to be raised 15 cents per $100 of assesses value.
“But doing the 35 cents gives you flexibility,” he added.
Raising taxes by 15 cents would generate approximately $250,000 in revenue.
The district lost the Innovative School Models (ISM) grant, which helped fund salaries and projects throughout the district.
Another major challenge for all school districts in Tennessee is funding the state-mandated teacher salary increase.
In a separate conversation, Davis explained that for the 2026/2027 school year, teachers must earn a minimum of $50,000/year.
“It’s great for teachers,” Davis explained. “Though, it’s kind of like an unfunded mandate. [The State] is not giving us a sufficient amount of dollars to reach that goal.”
In that same conversation, Barden also cited general overall inflation as contributing factors to the increasing budget.
“The TISA-based funding is just not keeping up,” Barden added. “pieces like that have to factor in as well.
Board Member Concerns
The prospect of raising taxes concerned several board members, some of whom expressed confusion about the process.
Board member Spiro Roditis said if they are going to increase taxes, he would like to attach that increase to something tangible such as a new elementary school building.
“If you say ‘part of this increase is going to go toward a new building,’ that might be good for [taxpayers] to hear,” he said.
“One of my concerns the fact that citizens have already had one tax increase,” said board member Bobby Young, who is also on McKenzie’s City Council, which imposed a tax increase in June.
Board Chair LaShonda Williams suggested waiting to vote on the matter until they were given concrete numbers.
“I think next year you will have more of a clear picture, kind of where you’re At with all your different funds,” She said. “There’s so many what-ifs and unknowns.”
“If we don’t choose to have a tax increase this year, we’re going to be coming back next February asking the same thing,” Davis said. “This problem is not going away. It’s still going to be here.”
Board member Misty Aird echoed Williams’s statement about unknowns and waiting.
“It’s not sustainable at this point,” she said. “And we can find a way to get through another year and then revisit when we’re a little bit more stable overall. People are hurting right now.”
“When it comes time to actually increase the taxes, we will have concrete numbers,” Davis replied. “Tonight is not a vote for a tax increase, it’s just permission from the legislature to potentially increase it up to a certain amount.”
“And then who decides that?” Aird asked.
“You mean, when you actually increase the taxes?” Davis clarified. “You guys will [make that decision] in June.”
After some discussion, Aird understood the process that Barden and Davis explained.
“So we vote tonight, on the possibility to increase, right? But then we come in June and we can say, ‘You know what, we don’t need to increase.’ Can we make that decision in June to not increase taxes?” She asked.
Barden affirmed that the board could choose not to raise taxes in June.
He then referenced a similar measure that was passed in 2005, when the school board approved flexibility to increase taxes from $1.53 to $2.00. The district ultimately didn’t use the full increase.
The Vote
Board Chair Williams made the motion to table the proposal until June, when the district will have clearer budget numbers.
Dr. Barden interjected to reiterate that if the board is to pass it, “it has to be passed tonight, so we can send that draft over to the legislators.”
“If you all don’t want to vote on it, I mean, that’s essentially an answer, too,” he said.
After some clarification, Williams decided to move ahead with tabling it.
Chad Brown gave the second.
Misty Aird, Chad Brown, Bobby Young, and LaShonda Williams voted ‘yes’ to table. Spiro Roditis, Karen Fowler, and George Cassidy voted ‘no’.
By tabling the proposal, the board has effectively blocked any tax increase for the upcoming budget cycle.
Dr. Barden indicated that the district will need to proceed with planned budget cuts and staff repositioning to address the deficit. While he noted these plans are preliminary, the decision to table the tax increase means those cuts will likely need to be deeper than originally anticipated.
Other Business
In addition to the tax proposal, the board approved several routine items during the meeting.
The board unanimously approved a request for McKenzie High School band members who qualified to attend the WCSBO All West clinic February 12-14.
The board also approved MHS FFA members to attend the State FFA Convention in Gatlinburg March 21-25.
Members approved a first reading of an amendment to the McKenzie Special School District Education Policy Manual. Barden explained the changes were largely cleanup language received from the Tennessee School Boards Association.
The board approved several budget amendments, including a $15,083 purchase of a new driver’s education vehicle, including brake installation and registration, using Carroll County hold harmless funds. Another amendment allocated the district’s $150,000 in outcome-based funding received in December, distributing $27,000 to each school for teacher and student incentives, with $10,000 set aside for end-of-year teacher bonuses recognizing level four and five performance.
During his director’s report, Barden thanked board members for their service during School Board Appreciation Week and presented them with gifts. He also announced that the Alumni Association requested permission to install a historical marker at the corner of Stonewall and Woodrow highlighting the history of schools in that area. The association would cover all costs and coordinate with the Historical Society and city officials.
He also reported that the MHS roof project is complete and awaiting final inspection from TLM, and that security film has been installed on high school office and library windows.
McKenzie Special School District’s next board is set for Tuesday, March 3 at 5:30 p.m.
