‘Instability’: Hundreds of Oklahoma property tax protests leave schools in limbo by Megan PratherĮach year, county assessors determine the value of property within the boundaries of each school district, which is used to calculate the funding for county schools. Located about 17 miles west of Lawton, Cache is a town of about 3,000 people whose sprawling school district along Cache Road is a draw for Comanche County residents. “My team and I have met and implemented several new due diligence steps to prevent anything like this from happening again.” “It’s unfathomable that one simple clerical error could cause a situation like this and be overlooked for so long, but that’s the reality of the situation and I am so sorry to everyone,” Edwards said. Shortly after the publication of this article, Edwards provided a statement ( embedded below) explaining how the error was made. “Unfortunately, it will have a decidedly negative impact - one that the school board and district officials are unable to correct or control.” “We have invested the last two weeks in better understanding this unusual situation and determining how this will affect our school district and local taxpayers,” Hance said. Superintendent Chad Hance discussed the situation in a statement posted today on the district’s Facebook page. The over-valuation of property within district boundaries means the district would not collect enough taxes to pay off the bonds without raising the rate paid by property owners. The district has also been paying off existing bonds totaling $7.2 million from 20 packages that voters approved.ĭistricts use anticipated property tax revenues to secure financing through bond issues for building and transportation projects. The March 2021 mistake was not reported to the school district until June 2022, about four months after voters had approved two new bond packages totaling $36.4 million for Cache Public Schools. Community members within the Cache Public Schools district will see an unexpected property tax increase of about 15 percent this year owing to a clerical error that misstated the community’s assessed valuation by about $51 million.Ĭomanche County Assessor Grant Edwards notified the district that a mistake was made in the figures that were gathered, certified by the Comanche County Excise Board and reported by his staff for 2021.
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