Under the guidance of Finance Director Jessica Darnell and on August 17, officials with Christian County Public Schools — unanimously and without fanfare — approved to keep tax rates the same as 2022: 42.2 cents per $100 of assessed real estate, 42.8 cents per $100 of assessed personal property.
The decision came less than an hour after a public hearing on the tax rate. One in which no one attended.
On August 30 and after work hours, Superintendent Chris Bentzel said he received a call from Hopkinsville resident Mark Graham and another concerned citizen — expressing frustrations about the tax rates.
According to Bentzel, Graham left a voice mail — one he couldn’t return until that Friday, September 1.
It’s here where Bentzel said he’d hoped to set up a meeting with Graham in order to discuss any tax rate concerns on the plate. However, three hours later, Graham filed a revenue petition with the Christian County Clerk’s Office — seeking a recall of the board’s decision.
CCPS hasn’t changed its tax rates since 2018, and Bentzel reaffirmed this stance Tuesday.
Bentzel said the district is expecting an estimated 7% increase in property values over the next fiscal year — a common trend not just in Christian County, but in the United States. In research recently completed at Purdue University, economists estimate this is a legacy from the pandemic — where property values spiked in 2021, home prices inflated and mortgage interest rates fell and families demanded more space for work and personal activities.
This also means large tax payments without actually increasing tax percentages, and in some cases taking lower tax rates in order to generate similar, or even equal, revenue.
Per Bentzel, and de facto Darnell, the district only has three options during each annual option: take the compensating rate, take the 4% revenue rate, or keep the same rate.
As such, Bentzel said Graham’s petition isn’t in response to the tax rate itself, but the tangible property revenue that’s set to be generated — and that the .7% “increase” results in a $44,000 line item.
Petitions like this under KRS are required to get a specific number of qualified signatures, and if Graham gets the required amount to bring it to a vote, Bentzel said he and the board would address matters at a further date.
He also reiterated that despite being the second-largest county in the state, Christian County still maintains the seventh-lowest tax rate in the Commonwealth.
There is no nickel tax being introduced for the new consolidated high school — which is currently slated to open as the Christian County High School and its Tigers September 2026. Its construction price: $106.4 million, with additional soft costs and administration bringing the full building & grounds project to $131 million.
A bond sale is schedule for Thursday in Louisville, with many of the district’s officials and project specialists expected to attend. Moody’s has also recently released the Christian County Public Schools bond rating, which is favorable.
If that bond sale goes off without a hitch, a groundbreaking ceremony is planned for the morning of September 15.
