JACKSON SCHOOL BOARD SAYS LITTLE ABOUT LAST WEEK'S TAX-LEVY DEFEAT

JACKSON, Mo. -- Jackson school board members and the school administration made little mention during Tuesday night's board meeting of last week's defeat of a 25-cent tax-levy increase.

Jackson School District voters on Aug. 7 shot down the tax-levy hike by a vote of 2,119 to 1,196.

School board members set the date for the annual tax rate hearing for Aug. 28. Superintendent Ron Anderson said the operating levy remains the same while debt service will increase by 10 percent.

At one point toward the end of the meeting, board member Vicky McDowell asked, "Were we supposed to approve the election results?"

The superintendent said since no changes were going to be made to the tax rate, there was no need for the board to take any official action.

"I'm really sorry we don't have to then," McDowell said.

Board member Jim Woeltje added, "You don't have to approve everything that happened, but you do have to accept it."

Anderson said the district can't accept the defeat for long. Busy with preparations for the new school year, school officials haven't formulated the next step after the election loss, but they agree that eventually something must be done to bring in new revenue.

Several classes are overcrowded this fall with more than 30 students in some, said Anderson.

"If you've got six sections of 30 students, you're seeing 180 students a day," Anderson said.

"That's part of what the levy would have helped with.

Bids for the junior high building are due by Aug. 30.

New policy

In other business, the school board approved minor changes to several policies and adopted a new technology policy.

The technology policy, which covers computers and the Internet, requires employees, students and parents to sign a user agreement before using computer equipment. That agreement maintains that use of computers and other technical equipment be limited solely to educational purposes.