The Fayette

County Board of Education is stressing that property taxes for schools

are not going up, while scheduling public hearings that suggest just the

opposite.

Citing a state

law that requires the hearings, school officials said Monday that while

the overall tax rate is being reduced, the rate dedicated to bonded indebtedness

is going up, which makes the "tax increase" message mandatory.

"The language

of the implementing regulations for the law state specifically the wording

of the advertisement and that it must be published if either the maintenance

and operations millage rate or the bond millage rate exceeds the rollback

rates required under the law," according to a written statement issued

The total tax

rate is being reduced from 22.386 to 21.783 mills, which should reduce

property taxes on a typical $200,000 home by $48.24 on this year's tax

bills, school officials said. But taxes on that same home actually are

likely to go up, because its value has increased.

"However,

due to provisions of the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, the Board of Education

will hold three public hearings in order to make the public aware of the

increase on the bond tax," they added.

The hearings

are scheduled for Sept. 20 at 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. and Sept. 27 at 8 a.m.

The Taxpayer's

Bill of Rights requires that rates be rolled back by an amount sufficient

to offset any increases necessitated by reassessments of properties during

the year. "The Board of Education has adjusted millage rates on the

maintenance and operations portion of the digest to reduce the millage

by 1.007 mills and is fully in compliance with the law in that area,"

school officials said.

But debt service

requirements on the $65 million bond passed last November have made it

necessary to increase the bond millage rate from 3.325 to 3.73 mills.

"While

this action was approved by the taxpayers of Fayette County, the law makes

no provision for this circumstance, and it will be necessary to hold the

three public hearings in order to obtain state approval of the county

tax levies," according to the school system's statement.

The board voted

in Monday's called meeting to tentatively approve the new millage rates

as recommended.