Jackson schools win vote on funds

With 87.5 percent of Jackson voters saying "yes" Tuesday to waiving a state sales tax rollback, the school district can expect to gain almost $2 million next year without raising local taxes.

Superintendent Ron Anderson stood in the basement level of the Cape Girardeau County administrative building watching County Clerk Rodney Miller record the final votes. When the results were all in, Anderson wore a relieved smile. There were 2,590 votes in favor and only 369 opposed.

"It's nice to see the community was interested in the issue enough to support it," Anderson said. "The staff worked very hard at that."

The district lost $400,000 in state funding during the 2002-03 school year and expects to lose $1.4 million in the current school year. To avoid financial distress, voters were asked to eliminate the district's Proposition C rollback in the operating levy.

Anderson said the revenue increase should stabilize the district's budget shortage.

"I can't imagine what we would have been facing without it," he said. "I'm anxious to watch the year legislatively to see what happens, and of course, the next year."

The move will shift $950,000 in property tax revenue from the debt service fund, which can only be used to pay off bonds, to the operating levy. The district also will receive an annual bonus of $1 million from the state for increasing the operating levy.

Kathy Casteel voted with the majority.

"It's my responsibility to support our schools," she said. "I want to provide the best education possible for our children. I trust our administration."

Dawn Pourney also backed the waiver. "I'm a strong believer in the education system in Jackson," she said. "We have two children who graduated from Jackson and I'm proud of the education they got here. I know the school has operating expenses to meet."

In 1982, Missouri voters approved a one-cent sales tax known as Proposition C. The proceeds are distributed annually to districts on a per-pupil basis. Districts were originally required to lower, or roll back, local tax levies by one-half the amount received from Proposition C to give property owners a break while providing revenue for schools. But in the past 20 years, 85 percent of the state's school districts have obtained Proposition C waivers with voter approval, allowing them to receive the revenue without lowering local taxes.

In Jackson's case, there will be no tax increase because the district will shift from the debt service fund the same amount the rollback would raise the operating levy, thus maintaining the current $3.31 per $100 assessed valuation tax rate. The district sets its annual tax rate in August, so the waiver won't kick in until next year, when it would bring in $1.95 million, barely enough to cover funding the district lost last year and expects to lose this year.

Staff writers Callie Clark, Bob Miller and Mike Wells contributed to this report