The Christian County Clerk’s Office has validated that enough signatures were obtained on a petition to have a nickel tax increase passed by the school board placed on a ballot for citizens to decide its fate.
The group, Citizens Right To Vote on Tax Increases, filed the petition with the County Clerk’s Office on April 8th to have the nickel tax recalled and placed on the ballot for voters to decide. Group organizer, Mark Graham said the petition is about accountability and letting the people decide if they want a nickel tax increase or not. The petition came about after the Christian County Board of Education voted to approve the 5.5-cent per $100 tax rate increase for real and personal property during their February meeting. The extra tax revenue would raise the districts bonding potential from around $15 million to over $50 million. The tax was passed solely for building new academic buildings at both high school campuses in Christian County.
The group needed to collect at least 2,226 signatures of registered voters, which Elections Coordinator Melinda Humphries says the group received more than what was needed.
She says the certification has been signed.
Now that the nickel tax petition has been certified it’s up to the school board to decide if they want to hold a special election and place it on the ballot or wait until the November general election.
During an April 18 meeting, school board members discussed the potential next step for them concerning the nickel tax going on the November ballot or holding a special election but decided that making a decision before the petition was approved by Humphries and her staff was not in their best interest.
School officials previously stated a special election would cost the district around $70,000.
