JACKSON SCHOOLS CONSIDER TAX HIKE

JACKSON, Mo. -- Jackson schools could turn to district taxpayers again in August, looking for a rollback waiver less than a year after voters narrowly approved a 10-cent per $100 assessed valuation property tax increase.

Schools superintendent Dr. Ron Anderson said Wednesday the school board will decide the matter at its next regular meeting May 22. The board must make a final decision before a May 29 deadline to place an issue on the Aug. 7 ballot.

"At this point, no decisions have been made," Anderson said. "We are looking ahead to a scenario with it in the projections."

Anderson said he will recommend the board ask voters to approve a Proposition C rollback waiver, which would mean a tax increases of about 25 cents per $100 assessed valuation.

Proposition C is a statewide, 1-cent sales tax for education established by voters in 1983. Districts were required to roll back local levies to offset half the sales-tax revenue, but in 1993 districts were allowed to restore local levies with voter approval.

If the school board goes for the tax increase, it won't be the first time the district has sought a Prop C waiver to cover operating expenses, which would include hiring additional faculty and staff.

In elections held in April and August of 2000, Jackson School District voters rejected proposals for combined waivers and tax increases of 40 cents that would have increased the district's operating levy to $3.15 per $100 assessed valuation.

In the same elections, voters also rejected bond proposals for improvements at the cramped R.O. Hawkins Junior High School. In November, they approved a bond issue that ran alone on the ballot.

Anderson said the 25-cent tax increase would not provide much help for the district's tight financial picture, but the amount would help officials come closer to meeting the district's annual budget.

In recent years, the district has dipped into its savings to cover budget shortfalls, and school officials expect to have a $150,000 shortfall when the fiscal year ends June 30.

"It will continue to decline," Anderson said of the district's reserve balances. "It would be kind of a Band-Aid situation."

Cape Girardeau School District voters will be asked in August to approve a 58-cent increase in the tax levy. Part of that figure represents a cut in the amount of rollback..