School tax hike likely in Murray

Murray residents are likely to pay more taxes to help kids read and give teachers a raise.

The Murray Board of Education this past week approved a $46.3 million budget that includes a $605,000 tax increase. That's expected to add about $15 to the tax bill on a $100,000 house, district business administrator Tim Leffel said.

The tax hikes are subject to a truth-in-taxation hearing, typically scheduled in August. One tax hike will generate $250,000 in matching money for a statewide reading program, Leffel said. The state match is $150,000. The money will turn all part-time reading specialists into full-time employees and bring to all district elementaries a reading program now used in low-income schools.

Another increase will generate about $7,000 to keep pace with rising gas costs for buses, Leffel said.

And a third will fund a 1 percent salary hike for employees. Teachers will see a 3.5 percent pay raise, as they negotiated redirecting to salaries some of the money spent on insurance benefits, Leffel said.

Murray's overall budget is $2.2 million less than last year's, mainly because Murray High construction is complete, Leffel said. Costs, however, still are on the rise, particularly in health insurance.