Mount Pleasant Community School District residents should mark down their calendars for September 12th after the school board approved a resolution to call for an election on their revenue purpose statement.
The revenue purpose statement governs how the district can utilize the statewide penny sales tax for school infrastructure. The money collected from this pre-existing statewide tax is divided up by the Department of Revenue on a per people statewide basis then given to the school districts.
Some examples of what the money is used for are the elementary air conditioning, school bus purchases, the parking lot at the middle school, and the general upkeep of the schools.
John Henriksen, Superintendent of the Mt. Pleasant Community School District, stated that right now the district has the “broadest use that is available.” Moreover, the state legislature extended the statewide penny sales tax until 2049.
The election is looking to renew their revenue purpose statement to still allow for the flexibility that the school district has right now for the future. According to Mr. Henriksen, this is important in that the penny sales tax allocates about 2 million dollars a year for the district.
The school district will be asking the community to participate in the election on September 12th. KILJ will have more information as the date draws closer.