The settlement agreement made between Kingfi sher Public Schools and a former football player last week could see property taxes rise 12% for each of the next three years for those living within the district’s boundaries.

That’s according to numbers provided to the Times & Free Press by Storm & Hauser through Heath Dobrovolny, chairman of the Board of Kingfisher County Commissioners.

The estimate was provided after a request from the Times & Free Press.

Storm & Hauser serves as the county’s accountant firm.

KPS last week agreed to settle a federal civil lawsuit with Mason Mecklenburg for $5 million.

Mecklenburg filed the case in July 2021, alleging a culture of bullying, hazing and abuse within the football program.

The case was set for trial on Dec. 5, but was negated when the settlement was reached.

“The decision reached to settle was from the advice of our counsel,” KPS Superintendent David Glover told the Times & Free Press. “There were a number of factors that went into the decision by our board, but it was decided that the risk to our school system and to our patrons was too great to gamble on a jury trial that our attorneys just did not think we could win.”

As part of the agreement, Glover told the Times & Free Press that KPS would pay $1.25 million of the settlement from the district’s general fund within 90 days.

The remaining $3.75 million is to be paid from the school’s sinking fund - meaning it falls to the patrons of the school district - over the next three years.

Although the settlement had not been filed on the federal PACER court system at deadline of this edition, attorneys for Mecklenburg confirmed the financial aspects of the agreement.

In compiling the estimated impact to taxpayers, the figures provided the Times & Free Press also included interest for the three years, which was 5.5%.

“The percentage may be a little high, but we feel it is a safe range,” Dobrovolny said.

The interest at that rate totaled $618,000.

Kingfisher’s tax levy is currently 85 mills and would see an increase of approximately 10 mills with the settlement.

Those rates, according to the figures, means the district homeowners and landowners will see approximately a 12% increase to ad valorem taxes in December 2024, 2025 and 2026.

Although the board agreed to terms in closed session, there has been no official vote on the terms of the settlement. Glover told the Times & Free Press that the vote will be on the agenda at the next regular meeting, which is Dec. 4.