Q Should a school district include its pro rata share of fee in lieu payments in the order adopted by the school board requesting an ad valorem tax effort, which is subsequently submitted to the board of supervisors?

A No, it is still the opinion of the Attorney General that the order of the request by the school district from the board of supervisors should be for an ad valorem tax effort in dollars necessary for the support of the school district. The sum of the pro rata share of fees in lieu of ad valorem taxes and the amount the school district will receive from the ad valorem tax levy and the other local revenue should equal the total amount of local revenue needed to support the school district. The school district knows in advance the anticipated amount that it will receive for its pro rata share of the fees in lieu of taxes. This amount should not be a part of the request to the county as doing so would result in the county taxing its citizens for the amount the entity will pay in lieu of the taxes it would have owed otherwise. Therefore, the anticipated pro rata share of the fee in lieu that the school district will receive should not be included in the request to the board of supervisors. Rather, a public school district is only required to request for the actual ad valorem effort exclusive of other local revenue sources like those fees paid in lieu of taxes. (Attorney General’s Opinion to Hooks, January 6, 2016)