MWISD Superintendent John Kuhn delivers Rotary program
Posted on Jul 20, 2016
New Mineral Wells ISD Superintendent John Kuhn, center, spoke at the Mineral Wells Rotary Club meeting on July 20, 2016. He told Rotarians about his decision to return to Mineral Wells ISD from his position as superintendent of Perrin-Whitt CISD and how, even though he is a Perrin native and graduate, he and his family consider Mineral Wells their home and he hopes to be with the district for many years.
Kuhn talked about his vision for the district, to make it a place where teachers want to teach and students want to come learn. He said while there are teaching requirements and standards, he wants teachers to feel some freedom, creativity and autonomy in how they teach.
He also talked about the district's tax ratification election set for Aug. 27, explaining the mechanics of the proposal. District voters are being asked to approve raising the maintenance and operations portion of the tax rate 13 cents, to $1.17 per $100 property valuation. The district's board of trustees has voted to accomplish that by shifting 13 cents from the debt service portion of the tax rate, meaning that the district's taxpayers will still have the current $1.43 total tax rate.
By law, voters must approve raising the M&O rate to $1.17. Those 13 pennies, moved from the debt service rate to the general fund rate, will then produce between $630,000 and $1 million in new state revenue, which Kuhn said the district has vowed to use to address teacher pay, making the district more competitive and on par with area and peer school districts when it comes to hiring and retaining quality educators.
The district will still pay its borrowed debt obligations, only some of those dollars will come from the general fund, while the district receives additional state revenue with the higher M&O rate.
Pass or fail, the district will keep the same $1.43 tax rate. But if the election fails, the district will miss out on hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional revenue, Kuhn said.
Pictured with Kuhn above are the day's program chair, David May, on the left, and club president Jimmy Walker, on the right.
Rotary Club of Mineral Wells meets every Wednesday at noon at Holiday Hills Country Club for lunch, updates on club activities and projects and a program of interest. If interested in becoming a member, join us for lunch, contact a Rotarian and check our website for additional information.