DELTA SCHOOL MULLS TAX HIKE FOR REPAIRS

DELTA -- A committee studying the condition of Delta Public School buildings will recommend a local tax increase to pay for "critical" repairs.

The committee's formal report is scheduled to be delivered to the Board of Education at its Dec. 12 meeting, said Delta superintendent Larry Beshears.

Martha Knotdurft, chairman of the facility-needs committee and a member of the Delta Board of Education, said: "We are recommending probably a 61-cent tax levy increase. Whether the board will go for this or not, I don't know."

Money generated by proposed tax hike would be used to replace the heating and cooling system at the elementary school and for roof repairs at the elementary school and the high school annex.

"These are the things that need to be done to keep the school viable and going in reasonable manner," said Beshears.

Knotdurft said she believes Delta voters will be more likely to support the local tax increase than they were to pass a statewide tax increase that was defeated earlier this fall.

"People realize if they vote a tax issue in their district, all their money will go to the schools," she said. "It will not be diverted anywhere else.

"I think a lot more smaller schools will start taking care of themselves rather than waiting for state aid. I think the community realizes the need to pay for education and I think they are willing to pay for it, if they know the money goes to education."

About a dozen community volunteers served on the facilities committee, which was formed in July. The group toured buildings and evaluated the district's needs in light of available finances.

"We looked at everything that needs to be done," Knotdurft said. "For so long we have been in a financial situation that we put things off. Now, we are in a position that some things must be done.

"There is a lot more that we'd like to do," she added, "but to do that, we would have to pass a tremendous tax increase."

Beshears said that given Missouri's financial condition, the committee didn't think local voters would support a major bond issue for a new building.

Instead, the committee is recommending two repairs that Knotdurft said must be done.

"We definitely need an elementary heating system," said Beshears.

At the elementary school, which is more than 30 years old, the hot-water heating system has pipes that run beneath the concrete floors. A major break in one of the pipes could close the school for days, Beshears said.

"From day to day we're not sure if the boiler will even work at the elementary school," said Knotdurft.

The committee first looked at the possibility of building a new high school.

Delta High School was built in the 1920s, and an addition was built in the late 1960s. The committee recommended that nothing immediately be done to the old building.

"It would be more economical to replace it than repair it," Knotdurft said. "We hope to some day replace it, but we can't do it at this time. So we will do only the minimum amount of work to make it safe and as efficient as possible."

Beshears said the school board will discuss the recommendations and could act on the matter at its January meeting.

"We want to make a decision as quickly as possible," he said. "We need to get out and begin educating the community about what the needs are."

Knotdurft said, "The board needs time to look at the recommendations and talk to people in the community. Something this size will take a lot of publicity to pass."