Voters in Oak Ridge School District asked to approve waiver

Declining enrollment and the possibility of future funding cuts has prompted the Oak Ridge School District to ask voters to approve a waiver allowing for a tax increase.

However, if the waiver passes in Tuesday's election, an increase to the levy will not be necessary this year because of unforeseen revenue, school officials say.

The Oak Ridge School Board voted last May to put the issue of a full Proposition C waiver on the Aug. 3 ballot to avoid deficit spending in the 2004-2005 budget. In June, however, the district unexpectedly received state revenue when Gov. Bob Holden released funding that had previously been withheld.

The released funds are enough to balance the district's $2.7 million budget for next year, so the tax levy increase that officials initially thought necessary has been postponed.

"As everybody knows, money has been extremely tight the last two years," said Charlie Glueck, president of the school board. "We were faced with some tough decisions about maintaining staff and wages. We wanted to protect ourselves."

But a month after the decision to put the issue on the ballot was made, an additional $47,000 in state revenue came in -- the amount released by Holden.

"We don't plan to make any changes to the levy at this point, but we didn't want to get behind the eight ball," Glueck said. "This just gives the local board a little more flexibility."

Aside from state funding losses, the district is concerned about a recent decline in student enrollment. During the 2001-2002 school year, district growth peaked with 396 students. During the last two years, the population has decreased to 377, and officials expect another drop for the coming year.

Partial waiver targetedBecause much of the district's state aid is driven by enrollment and attendance numbers, the district faces an estimated loss of $100,000 next year because of the drop in students. The best option for offsetting that loss and future losses, officials say, is through the elimination of the district's partial Proposition C waiver, a statewide 1 cent sales tax passed by Missouri voters in 1982.

The proceeds of Prop C, as it's commonly known, are distributed on a per-pupil basis annually to school districts. Originally, districts were required to lower local levies by one-half the amount received from Proposition C, giving local property owners a tax break while still providing a new source of funding for schools.

In the past 20 years, 89 percent of Missouri school districts have obtained either partial or full Proposition C waivers, which allow them to receive the sales tax funding without lowering the local levy. The waivers result in an increase in property taxes and cannot be done without voter approval.

In Oak Ridge's case, voters have already approved a partial waiver. Now officials are asking for a complete waiver, but say that does not mean a tax increase is needed right now.

"We're not anticipating an increase this year, but this will allow for local control for the coming years," said Oak Ridge superintendent Dr. Gerald Landewee. The board of education consistently watches the budget and wants to provide a quality program, he said, but it also wants to be extremely conservative in what it is putting forth to taxpayers.

If voters approve the full waiver, the school board could raise the levy by as much as 60 or 70 cents, based on the tax rate ceiling set annually by the state auditor's office. For the owner of a $100,000 home, that would mean an additional $114 in taxes annually.

However, Landewee said the district would likely only need to raise the levy by 5 or 10 cents in order to present a balanced budget, which would mean an annual increase between $9.50 and $19 for the owner of a $100,000 home.

cclark@semissourian.com

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