By JAMES BROWN
Glasgow News 1
The Barren County Schools Board of Education voted to maintain tax rates the same as they were for the previous fiscal year.
During the board’s August meeting Thursday night at the district central office, board members voted to set the rate for the 2026-27 fiscal year at 62.6 cents per 100 of assessed value of real property, and 67.4 cents for tangible property.
Prior to the vote, superintendent Amy Irwin said she recommended the board to keep the tax rate at the same amount.
“This proposal is not a tax rate increase,” she said. Irwin also pointed out that the district had lowered the rate in the last couple of years.
The board must now advertise the rate for at least two weeks before final approval can be passed at the next meeting, which is in September. That requirement is because of a new state law that took effect this year.
The board also recognized SpanTech and its founder Bud Layne with a CTE Legacy award. Layne’s daughters, Tiffany Somerville and Lisa Held, serve as co-CEOs of the company now.
“SpanTech’s story is deeply rooted in Barren County,” assistant superintendent Michael Davis read from a statement. “In 1978, Bud Layne started the company in his garage.”
He then listed several support SpanTech had provided to the district through the years, from investment in the BC Skills Development Academy to annual contributions to the BC Reads & Feeds program.
