SCHOOL DISTRICT WILL ASK VOTERS TO APPROVE TAX HIKE IN AUGUST

Cape Girardeau School District voters will be asked Aug. 7 to approve an operating tax levy increase that would include funds for staff salaries and classroom equipment and supplies.

Schools superintendent Dr. Dan Steska said the school board will wait until late spring to decide a specific levy amount so that administrators can determine how the district's financial status will be affected by reassessment, pending legislation that could increase the amount of state aid the district receives, and a court ruling that has held up a $1 million state allocation for the district's new Career and Technology Center that is nearing completion.

The school board decided unanimously Monday night to put the question on the ballot. Final wording for the ballot proposal must be approved and submitted to the county clerk's office by May 29. A simple majority vote is required for passage.

"The amount is not set, but it's clear it will still be necessary to seek additional funding," said Steska. "The district is in an excellent position in terms of facilities and development. However, there are about four or five key areas I believe our community will want to see continued."

Steska said more money is needed to retain quality staff, maintain technology throughout the district and "ensure the district provides students with the quality education the community has come to expect."

By having the board agree to seek the ballot proposal, Steska said he will be better able to mobilize a campaign committee to work toward passage of the measure.

"I didn't want to be out talking about this in the community without having asked the board to officially approve it," he said.

Pat Renaud, president of the Community Teachers Association, said she believes most teachers support the levy increase. The district has lost many good teachers because its salaries are not competitive with others in the region, and an increased tax levy would stem the tide of outgoing teachers and have a positive effect on classroom instruction, she said.

"It affects everything we do, from the supplies we have in the classrooms to the paper we can buy, to the printer cartridges for our computer printers and the temperatures we work in in our classrooms," said Renaud. "I hope the public wants to maintain quality of education we've had in Cape Girardeau for years. We've got to keep good teachers, and we are losing good teachers."

The district has been in a precarious financial position for several years and could be placed on a state watch list for financially distressed schools by the summer if fund balances dip to 3 percent of the district's budget, officials have said.

Among its problems is the frozen amount of state aid the district receives due to its hold-harmless status, which has caused the district to dip into reserve balances in recent years. The school board also sought a line of credit in the fall to meet payroll and other expenses until the county could forward property tax proceeds, a move Steska said will be necessary again next fall.

Board of Education president Dr. Ferrell Ervin said the school board does not want to overburden taxpayers, but it had no choice but to seek a tax increase.

"I think, clearly, the board has recognized for quite some time that we can't continue to exist as we have," Ervin said.