MOST WHO ATTEND PUBLIC MEETING SPEAK IN FAVOR OF TAX INCREASE

JACKSON, Mo. -- Most of the 70-plus people attending an informational public meeting at Jackson Middle School Monday night seemed to support a tax hike to cover increased operating costs over the next three years.

Meeting-goers, who consisted largely of district staff and members of a community planning committee that is helping to prioritize district needs, questioned how the district planned to meet specific needs like increased class sizes and a lack of library resources that could affect accreditation.

No one openly challenged the board's consideration of a tax issue so soon following voters' approval in November of and 10-cent debt service tax increase for new classrooms and other improvements at R.O. Hawkins Junior High School.

"Right now I would have to say I'm for it unless something happens tomorrow that blows me away," said Board of Education president Gerald Adams, who was elected to his second term in office and first one-year term as board president last month.

The meeting was held in advance of tonight's regular school board meeting to help board members decide whether to ask voters to approve a 25-cent tax increase in elections Aug. 7.

Tonight's meeting begins at 7:30 at the Board of Education office, 614 E. Adams St. and is open to the public.

Money for books

The proposal, which would ask voters to waive a partial tax levy rollback they receive due to the Proposition C half-cent sales tax for education, requires a simple majority for passage.

School officials said the additional money is needed to cover increased operating costs for utilities and transportation, and to purchase new textbooks and buy additional books for school libraries.

The district also has averaged an enrollment growth rate of 3 percent annually for the past 10 years and 96 new teachers and 85 classified staff have been hired in that time, but there's no room in the budget to hire the additional teachers needed to reduce class sizes.

Administrators said the increased funding would probably be sufficient for three years, after which another tax increase would probably be needed.

"Many communities would love to have the problems we're having," said district superintendent Ron Anderson. "That is a growth you can manage, but it has to be done actively. You cannot sit back and do nothing."

Diana Deneke was among residents supporting the tax proposal.

"This is something we need to do to keep our school at the quality it is already," said Deneke following the meeting. "I'm hoping that as long as they have a good communication with the community, people will understand how important it is to get it passed."

Adams said the public appears to be more supportive of the district, largely because of increased efforts by staff to improve communication with residents.

The increased support could mean the difference between winning voter approval of this tax proposal and the failure of two others during elections in April and August 2000, Adams said.

"I think we've got enough information out there that they're seeing what the district's doing with the money we've got," he said. "I hear a lot more positive things, and I think those community planning and development meetings really helped everybody to get out and find the information on their own.".