AUDITOR CLAIMS SCHOOL DISTRICTS DEFYING HANCOCK

According to a recent state auditor's report, 88 Missouri school districts have hit taxpayers with $10 million in unconstitutional tax increases.

However, under state law, the districts in question had little choice about instituting the increases. Otherwise they would have forfeited state funding.

The conflict is between the Hancock Amendment, a section of the state constitution which requires certain tax increases to be approved by voters, and a provision of Senate Bill 380, an education reform law passed by the General Assembly in 1993.

Under SB 380, districts must have a property tax rate of at least $2.75 per $100 assessed valuation to receive state money. Due to property tax rollbacks required by earlier legislation, many districts had fallen below that mark. A law approved last year allowed school boards to waive the rollbacks without voter approval.

State Auditor Margaret Kelly says that violated the Hancock Amendment to the state constitution.

"Through the new finance law, the state has pushed districts to levy unconstitutional tax increases," Kelly said. "School officials have been placed between a rock and a hard place; the law requires them to keep taxes at a certain level or face the possibility of losing out on additional state financing, and possibly even face closing by the state. But the constitution says that tax revenues cannot be increased without a vote."

A number of Southeast Missouri districts are on Kelly's list. Those districts, with what the auditor's office reports is their approved tax rate and excess revenues: Kennett, $2.33, $252,762; Poplar Bluff, $2.64, $201,992; Meadow Heights, $2.04, $107,163; Puxico, $2.29, $106,109; Sikeston, $2.68, $97,788; Woodland, $2.41, $78,323; and Advance, $2.67, $14,041.

State Sen. Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau and an outspoken SB 380 opponent, said this situation is another manifestation of the bill's considerable flaws. He said the legislation was rushed through without adequate debate, which may have exposed some problems prior to passage.

"At the time many tried to warn there would be hell to pay without a vote of the people," Kinder said. "We were ignored. Now we find school districts essentially had a gun put to their heads to raise taxes or else.

"I understand why they take the steps they did. They may have gone over the lid in this matter, but they stood to lose more in state aid if they didn't."

Meadow Heights Superintendent Cheri Fuemmeler feels the district is on solid legal ground.

"I believe the board of education followed the directive of the legislature, which said we could do this," Fuemmeler said, but added that the board didn't really have an option.

"To receive funding we had to do this, follow the mandate we were given. If the judicial system finds otherwise, we will have to reassess at that time."

Ron Wene, superintendent at Woodland, echoed that sentiment and noted that the state Department of Education interprets the law differently.

"When the state department says, If you want money you have to do something, you had better do it," Wene said.

Sikeston Superintendent Bob Buchanan disputes Kelly's claim that the district has violated the Hancock Amendment and pointed out that the state auditor has no enforcement power.

"When the state legislature makes a law we have to follow that," he said. "The state auditor is just supposed to audit the records of the state."

Since the auditor's office can only advise, there will be no negative repercussions for districts on the list unless legal action is taken. Under state law, individual taxpayers who feel a taxing entity has violated the Hancock Amendment can request their county prosecutor to bring a class action suit. No lawsuits relating to the audit report have been filed, a Kelly spokesperson said.

Several of the superintendents contacted said they feel Kelly's findings are politically motivated. Kelly, a Republican, is seeking to unseat Democratic Gov. Mel Carnahan this year. Carnahan is a strong proponent of SB 380.

"It comes up every election year," Buchanan said.