Polls are open across the city of Tuscaloosa as citizens weigh whether to increase their property taxes by 22 percent to fund the municipal school system for decades to come.

The proposed tax increase would raise the municipal ad valorem property tax rate by 11.5 mills - 22 percent over the existing rate - and raise more than $17 million in new revenue for Tuscaloosa City Schools beginning in Fiscal Year 2026.

That would increase annual tax costs by $115 per $100,000 of assessed property value - the owner of property assessed at $500,000 would pay $575 more each year if the measure passes.

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TCS administrators including Superintendent Mike Daria and CFO Jay Duke say the new revenue will allow the system to continue and improve upon needs which were funded the last several years by now-expired federal COVID relief funds.

Without those monies, TCS is set to operate at a $6 million deficit and draw from reserves to cover that shortfall in Fiscal Year 2025 - but the available reserves beyond what TCS must keep on hand by state law will not last far past 2026.

TCS says the choice is clear - increase funding through this property tax, or cut millions from budgets to come. Those cuts would come at the cost of teacher excellence, smaller class sizes, some extracurriculars and school safety features.

Supporters of the tax increase say the city's ad valorem rate has not moved since 1986 and they need this revenue to keep up with ever-growing costs. Opponents note that although the tax rate hasn't increased, both the tax base and property tax values have risen significantly in the last 40 years.

Both sides are also using TCS's academic proficiency scores to support their case - as the Thread reported earlier this month, test scores show significant progress in Tuscaloosa's elementary schools but stagnation in the middle schools and low proficiencies in TCS's three high schools.

The matter goes before citizens today, Tuesday, September 24th, and polls are open across the city of Tuscaloosa's seven districts from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.

County residents outside the city school system are unaffected and will not vote today - they voted down their own property tax referendum in February 2023.