The Henry County Board of Supervisors have scheduled a public hearing for June 25 at 6 pm, to receive input from citizens on a proposed tax increase that, if approved, provides additional funding for education.

The county is considering an increase in its real estate tax from 55.5 cents to 62 cents per $100 assessed value in order to comply with the funding level required by the state.

In April, the Board adopted a budget that increased school funding by $4.3 million and brought the total school budget to $107,018,865. This total consisted of $72.6 million in state funds and $21.6 million in local funds. Subsequently, the state finalized a budget that increased its portion to $80.1 million.

The Commonwealth of Virginia uses a formula called the local composite index (LCI) to determine the amount of funds that localities are required to pay for education. Counties or cities with lower LCI scores are determined to have less of an ability to pay for education. Henry County has the twelfth lowest LCI score in the state.

Using the state’s formula, the county would be required to provide $20.1 million to match the increase in state funding.

On June 6, the Henry County School Board amended its budget to also request $3.8 million in discretionary funds from the locality. This would bring the total local funding amount to $23.9 million.

The new advertised tax rate that the Board is considering would provide for the required amount by the state and some additional discretionary funds.

The school board also requested that the locality increase its facilities budget by $1.12 million from the original adopted budget. Taxpayers support school facilities through the annual budget and a separate fund generated through an additional one percent sales tax. That fund currently has a balance of $10.2 million and accrues approximately $5.5 million per year.

The last time the county approved a property tax increase was 2017.