CAPE SCHOOL BOARD MEETS TONIGHT TO SET NEW TAX RATES

The Cape Girardeau School District Board of Education will meet tonight to set the tax rate for the coming school year.

The board meets at 6:15 p.m., following a 6 p.m. tax rate public hearing. Both meetings will be held at the Board of Education conference room, 61 N. Clark.

A change in the way owners of nursing homes and apartments pay property tax will cost Cape Girardeau public schools $3 million in assessed valuation. That translates to more than $88,000 in income for the coming school year.

Business manager Steve DelVecchio explained the change in law at Monday's public tax-rate hearing. House Bill 211 assesses nursing homes and apartments at the lower residential property tax rate.

But the change in the law also gives school districts a chance to make up the lost revenue by raising their tax rates.

The tax rate was tabled by the school board at the regular August meeting to give DelVecchio time to meet with state officials and recalculate the tax rate needed to make up $88,000.

Missouri school districts must set their tax rates by Sept. 1.