College seeking tax levy renewal, increase
BRANSON MO NEWS: On April 3, as area voters are asked to elect city councils and school boards, they will also be asked to maintain -– and increase – a property tax levy for an area community college.Ozarks Technical Community College will ask voters in the college’s district to maintain an existing levy of 5 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. Those voters will also be asked to approve an additional 5 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. Those items will appear on the April 3 ballot as two items. Proposition A will ask voters to maintain the current levy, and Proposition B will ask voters for the increase.Voters in the Branson and Hollister School Districts are included in the OTC district.
Passage of the two propositions will allow the college system to make a number of improvements. For the Table Rock Campus in Hollister, that would mean the expansion of technical and allied health programs.The college recently entered into a lease-to-purchase agreement with Hollister to purchase 5.5 acres of land from the city adjacent to the campus. After five years, the college will have the option to purchase the land at its appraised value.That land is where the school is developing facilities so it can add degrees in construction technology; heating, refrigeration and air conditioning; and computer information science.OTC System Chancellor Hal Higdon said the ballot issues would allow the school to continue to add programs.“If the levy is successful, we can build on that,” Higdon said.Higdon said OTC has followed through on its promises and investments to the Tri-Lakes Area. He said when Hollister School District voters approved joining the OTC district, the college promised to make an investment in the Table Rock campus, which it did. When Branson School District voters chose to join the district, the college promised to …
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