MANY DISTRICTS SEEK TAX WAIVERS

As many as 46 school districts throughout Southeast Missouri will ask voters Tuesday to keep local tax dollars at home.

The school districts are asking taxpayers to waive the rollback of property taxes granted under Missouri's Proposition C.

The election is part of a rather complicated scenario triggered by passage of Senate Bill 380, Missouri's new funding and education reform act.

Missouri's Education Commissioner Robert Bartman was in Cape Girardeau Friday to endorse Proposition C rollback waivers in all of these school districts.

About 30 school administers attended the press conference Friday to emphasize the importance of the issue.

In Cape Girardeau County, Jackson, Oak Ridge and Delta school districts have measures on the ballot.

In Scott County, Scott City, Chaffee, Kelley School at Benton, Sikeston, Scott County Central, Kelso C-7, and Oran have ballot issues. And in Bollinger County, Woodland, Meadow Heights, Zalma school districts have ballot measures.

Taxpayers are not voting on a tax increase. Levies in all these districts will be raised to $2.75, Bartman said.

"The key is are you going to keep the majority of money raised by the new levy or are you going to donate that money to the rest of the schools in the state," the commissioner said. "Taxpayers can vote to keep those monies at home."

Missouri's new funding and reform law requires that school districts have a $2.75 tax levy to get additional state money. A district's debt service levy is not added in to meet this level.

Districts have two choices for raising the levy to $2.75. The boards of education can vote the hike themselves. "If that's all a school did, the Proposition C money coming to that district would be redistributed to other schools in the state," Bartman said.

"The other option is to go to a vote of the people," he said.

All the schools involved have tax levies of $2.75 before the levy is rolled back under Proposition C.

Some districts like Jackson, Oak Ridge and Jackson are asking for a partial rollback. These district will rollback the tax rate until it hits $2.75.

Other districts, because their levies are lower, must ask taxpayers to waive all the rollback.

The law also includes two fairly stiff consequences for districts that don't increase the levy, Bartman said.

First, and immediately, the districts will not participate in some $400 million new state dollars expected as part of the new school funding bill.

And second, if by 1996 the district did not meet the minimum levy, the school district would lapse.

"After 1996 all but three or four districts in the state will have a $2.75 levy," Bartman said. Those few school districts have special exceptions granted by the legislature.

"It's not a matter of choice," Bartman said. "If they don't want a $2.75 levy now, they will be put into a district with a $2.75 levy later," the commissioner said.

Jackson superintendent Wayne Maupin said, "People are not voting on a tax increase. That tax increase was established by Senate Bill 380."

Jackson's current levy is $2.63. The district needs to waive 12 cents of its Proposition C rollback to reach the minimum levy.

Oak Ridge, at $2.62, needs to waive 13 cents and Delta, at $2.44, needs to waive 31 cents.

The 13-cent levy increase in Oak Ridge generates an additional $11,570 in new local money. The district could lose $103,000 in revenue if voters say no.

In Delta, the 31 cents generates $35,000 in new local money. The penalty would be $130,000.

In Jackson, the 12 cents generates about $120,000 in new money. The penalty would be $170,000.