Nine years after the 2008 flood and the national recession, the assessed value of property in Bartholomew County is ready to rebound to its pre-flood levels. That’s according to an analysis by Bartholomew Consolidated Schools as school officials are planning next year’s budget.

Chad Phillips, the school district’s assistant superintendent for finance, presented the first draft of the upcoming budget at last night’s school board meeting. He said that the estimated assessed value for property in the school district, which covers most of Bartholomew County, would rise above $4 billion dollars for the first time since 2008. That would allow the district to have a budget increase of just over 2 percent, without having to raise property taxes, he said.

The district will also benefit from a slight increase in enrollment. The actual head count is later this week, but officials believe they will be up about 36 students over last school year.

The district is looking at an overall budget of just over $115 million dollars. The largest part is the general fund, which would increase from this year’s $72.8 million to $75.3 million next year.