CAPE GIRARDEAU SCHOOLS RAISE TAX RATE BY 2 CENTS

A new state law that gives owners of apartments and nursing homes a tax break resulted in a 2-cent property tax increase for Cape Girardeau School District residents.

At a special meeting Monday the Cape Girardeau Board of Education approved a tax rate of $2.88 per $100 assessed valuation, up 2 cents from last year.

The new law, House Bill 211, took money away from school districts by reclassifying apartments and nursing homes as residential rather than commercial property. In Cape Girardeau, the change lowered the school district's assessed valuation by more than $3 million.

But the law also gave school districts the authority to increase local taxes and make up the loss.

Business manager Steve DelVecchio explained that the change cost Cape Girardeau about $88,300, which is about the amount 3 cents in the tax rate generates.

However, the school could only make up 2 cents because of another set of circumstances.

When the school calculates its tax rate each year, it takes into account pages and pages of information, including estimates on railroad and utility tax income. Last year, the estimate on those taxes was too high, so the district this year had to lower the rate by a penny.

The tax rate ceiling for the 1995-96 school year is 3.27, and 39 cents is subtracted for the Proposition C roll back, leaving the $2.88 tax rate.

Of that rate, $2.80 is in the general fund and 8 cents is in the capital projects fund.

The 2-cent increase will generate an estimated $58,682. DelVecchio said the net result is a $29,341 loss in anticipated money for the school district, the amount one penny in the tax rate generates.