Renew the millage

If ever a city needed to renew a property tax for its schools, Sheffield is that city.- A few months ago, the city council cut $395,000 from the school budget in a effort to shore up sagging city finances. That was a hard blow for the school system to absorb.

Now, voters are being asked to renew a 5 mill property tax that generates about $200,000 a year for city schools. That amounts to about $5 a year for a resident who owns a house valued at $100,000. It's a small price to pay for funding an adequate educational program.

The total millage for school property taxes in Sheffield is 19 mills -- the lowest in the four cities. The highest millage is assessed by Florence at 25 mills, followed by Tuscumbia with 20.5 mills and Muscle Shoals with 20 mills.

A mill equals 1 cent of tax for every $1,000 in assessed property value.

Sheffield's schools can't afford to lose any more money. Officials have been creative in making up for the loss of the $395,000 from the city's allocation. If voters fail to renew the 20-year-old 5 mill assessment, then city schools will be facing a cut in funding of almost $600,000 in just over a year. A school system the size of Sheffield's would be hard pressed to recover from those losses.

And Sheffield is not raking in money these days. The downtown has experienced a decline in retail businesses, and the city has only limited exposure on Colbert County's busy U.S. 43 thoroughfare. City hall has turned to lines of credit to sustain operations because of the lack of growth in sales tax-collections.

Sheffield's schools have a reputation for providing a good education in a town where low-income students represent a significant percentage of the population. That is not an easy thing to do, according to educators. Part of the system's success is rooted in having enough money to hire the teachers it needs and provide them with the tools they need to do their jobs.

Losing another $200,000 a year would be devastating to Sheffield schools, but we are confident city residents want the best schools they can afford and will renew the 5 mill property tax today.