Eastern Pulaski school board reviews impacts of new legislation

The Eastern Pulaski Community School Board took some time during their May 12 meeting to review some of the impacts of recently passed legislation, such as Senate Bill 1. SB 1 aims to bring property tax relief to homeowners. The bill’s property tax cuts could lead to a reduction for school districts though, which rely on property taxes to fund various services. Superintendent Dara Chezem informed that over the next three years (2026 – 2028), EPCSC could see a $455,270 reduction. The first year will be a $134,000 decrease, the next year $145,000 and the third $175,700. The most affected fund will be their operations fund, which pays for the maintenance and upkeep on their facilities. This would include paying for items such as buses (one yellow bus is $152,360), electricity and gas (annually $399,000), diesel fuel ($108,900) and copy paper ($16,000 annually). SB 1 will also eliminate the Local Income Tax (LIT) distribution in 2028. For reference, Chezem said that EPCSC received $188,035 into the Education Fund in 2024 from this distribution. The Education Fund primarily pays for teacher's salaries and benefits. Additionally, SB 1 will eliminate their Connectivity Grant this year, which goes into their Operations Fund. That will be a $7,800 cut.