The Bossier Parish School Board seems to have, at least temporarily, discarded its tin ear, perhaps coming to understand a series of questionable policy decisions have led to its adding another to its undistinguished record might have electoral consequences.
Earlier this year, the Board advertised that it would entertain rolling forward millage property tax rates levied by the Bossier Parish School District. During presidential election years in Louisiana parish tax assessors reassess property, but the Constitution mandates that the difference in values for property held and not improved throughout the period not increase the total amount of taxes paid for that group, meaning millage rates would be adjusted automatically unless a two-thirds majority wished not to do so, effectively raising taxes since that aggregate value had increased over the time period.
As published, it would have been more than a $4.2 million increase, or nearly 6 percent. Despite declining enrollments, costs have escalated because unfunded pension demands and post-employment benefits have skyrocketed over the past few years. Worse, BPSD already has one of the highest property tax rates of local education agencies in the state, so Bossier property owners have been hit harder than almost any others in the state.
And in the recent past the BPSB hasn’t distinguished itself in demonstrating sound fiscal decision-making, In 2019 it asked for drastic millage increases, dedicated to instructional salaries, even with its elevated ad valorem taxes and higher-than-average proportion of spending going towards administrative costs, eventually which unconvinced voters decisively rejected. (In fact, Bossier teachers according to the latest data rank sixth-highest in pay at the state with an average over $60,000). Then there have been questions about superfluous expenditures such as for school clinics scheduled to open in the near future, and a public hearing to raise rates might open up BPSB members to accusations of imprudent fiscal management and having taxpayers make up for their mistakes.
But perhaps the most uncomfortable need to justify spending might come from recent anti-family actions in addition to the clinics such as resistance to state laws broadening educational choice and extracurricular activity participation. School administrators called support of these policies bad policy if just short of racist, with some board members joining in. Some very unflattering questions in the public hearing could call into question spending to resist popular education choice policies that might make look particularly bad some or all board members who ratified these efforts and hired the officials involved, besides hanging a tax increase issue around their necks detracting from reelection purposes in 2026.
Uncomplimentary rumblings within the public already were about. A local news outlet declared it would publicize which members voted in favor of rolling forward, and citizens already had started questioning the move to the Board. This space laid out a case against the hike and delved into the controversies the BPSB and district administrators had fomented that could cause a backlash should it pursue the increase.
A day later, the BPSB released a stunning announcement: it scrapped the public hearing scheduled the next day, postponing it until the end of October. Moreover, as announced at the regular board meeting that next day, a “technical” error had triggered this and would advance a proposal that would see a “net reduction in millages.” Curiously, the notice asserted the meeting still had on the table the increase of over $4.2 million, but now listed an overall estimate in this tax collection about $5 million fewer at nearly $87 million.
The attached fiscal year 2024-25 budget attached to each notice was identical, so it calls into question what was the “technical” error, but the practical impact was a real chance now exists that the BPSB won’t hike taxes at all, even if the “error” seemed to cost it $5 million. And if that transpires, public opinion will have turned the tide, signaling that enough of the public has become attentive enough of School Board activities and of district officials to have the BPSB rein in the deviant direction to the district’s voting majority into which it had lapsed. Other tax-hiking local governments like the Bossier Parish Police Jury, with one cued up for the start of next month, should take notice.
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