Altenburg school tax levy fails

Altenburg will not be building a new school anytime soon, voters in the school district decided Tuesday.

Unofficial vote totals from the Perry County Clerk's office showed a proposed increase in the school tax levy for the district failed 356-227.

Proposition Safe Schools, according to district officials, would have generated $1.9 million for the construction of a consolidated building to house kindergarten through eighth grade. The district's tax levy would have increased from 3.6 to 4.3 cents per $100 of assessed property value.

A similar ballot issue with a slightly higher proposed levy failed in 2010.

Although the increase in the levy amount was smaller since the last time the issue was on the ballot, Altenburg School Board president Sarah Stueve said after the vote Tuesday she didn't think the change was what really made the difference.

"With this being such a small community and so many people supporting the parochial schools through their church, they are just not going to want an increase, period," she said.

Many children living in the area of Perry County served by the Altenburg School District, including the villages of Altenburg and Frohna, attend Lutheran schools.

The school board voted unanimously to send the proposition to the ballot.

"I am kind of disappointed," Stueve said.

District officials said a new building was needed for several reasons, including that security and accessibility were lacking in the district's four small buildings. Not enough space for just more than 100 students also remains a problem, they said.

Outside the polls Tuesday evening, there seemed to be plenty of support for the proposition.

"We voted yes, definitely," said Rhonda Weber, whose fifth-grade son attends school in the district. "The reason I want this is because they desperately need a new building. What they are in now is overcrowded and leaks."

"I voted in favor," said Trey Palisch of Altenburg. "At least with this we know what our tax dollars are going for, and I don't know of any better way to spend them than on education."

The issue of a new school, as indicated by turnout for the election, was on the minds of many people in the community. The unofficial report for the election showed 77 percent of eligible voters cast a ballot Tuesday.

Dorthy Scholl France, one of two people in Frohna to place a sign in her yard encouraging others to "vote no," said Tuesday she is among many not happy with the way the school district operates.

"I love those kids, and I'm not saying they don't need a new school," she said. "But there needs to be a different way of spending taxpayer dollars by the district."

eragan@semissourian.com

388-3627

Pertinent address:

8432 Main St., Altenburg, M0