City extends sales tax funding for Madison schools

MADISON – The Madison City Council approved an ordinance at the Jan. 29 city council continuing funding for the Madison City School District from a portion of sales tax.

The ordinance continues a 2009 amendment that originally raised sales and use tax by .5% and allotted a half-cent tax to the Board of Education for the construction of James Clemens High School. In 2010, the amendment was extended to 2027 with the city and school board agreeing the school district required continued funding from sales tax even after funding of James Clemens was complete “due to sustained rate of student growth in the City.”

“This ordinance lifts the sunset on this half-cent sales tax that was schedule to expire in 2027, and it levies this half-cent sales tax in the future to the Board of Education to be used for educational purposes, including school construction projects. The proceeds in excess of that will be retained by the board for general public education purposes,” explained City Attorney Megan Zingarelli.

“Without renewal Dr. Nichols (Superintendent of Education) has shared that over 50 teaching units will need to be cut in order to address pressing infrastructure needs. These include 24 pre-K teachers, seven English language teachers, five elementary STEM and three each in art and music. Letting the half-cent expire might also lead to reduced bus transportation. He also shared that we spend less per student than competitive districts statewide and I would like to see us narrow that gap, not widen,” commented councilman David Bier.

The new ordinance passed the city council unanimously.