New Johnson County school tax takes effect

By TONY FYFFE

BSN Editor

PAINTSVILLE – A new tax approved earlier this year by the Johnson County School District has gone into effect.

The school passed a nickel equivalency tax of 6.1 cents per $100 of assessed property value on Oct. 1, according to Johnson County School Superintendent Thom Cochran.

The tax will allow the school district to “continue critical facility improvements, and we will now begin realizing our great desire to build a new high school for our current and future Johnson County Students,” Cochran said in a letter to The Big Sandy News.

Cochran said school board members made “a difficult, yet critical decision to pass this nickel equivalency tax for the school district.” He said they made the decision “based on the needs of the students under their charge.”

Cochran said newspaper advertisements about the tax were published Sept. 16 and 13, and the school board held a public hearing on the issue Oct. 1, at which time the board also approved the measure. A third newspaper ad was published Oct. 7, he said.

A 45-day waiting period required by state law before the tax could take effect ended on Nov. 16, Cochran said, adding that residents will begin receiving a supplemental property tax bill from the sheriff’s office on or around Dec. 15.

“This bill is separated and supplemental for this year only due to the timing of the passage of the tax rate,” Cochran said. “After this year, the nickel equivalency will be included in the regular property tax bill. To give you an idea of what you will be billed, a home appraised at $100,000 will receive a bill for approximately $61; $50,000 home approximately $30; and etc.”

A similar tax was passed by the school board a few years ago under former Superintendent Tom Salyer, but a petition asking for the issue to be placed on the ballot for voter approval was filed with the county clerk’s office and subsequently certified to have the required number of valid signatures. Voters later rejected the tax.