LETTERS: JACKSON SCHOOLS NEED FULL REVIEW OF FINANCE PLANS

To the editor:

Budget projections by the Jackson School District show there will be a $954,000 deficit in the general fund.

The response of the administration and board has been to call for a tax increase or a possible freeze on salaries. Other alternatives need to be considered.

Over the past five years, the board has authorized the transfer of approximately $1.5 million from the general fund to the capital projects fund for the purpose of acquiring land. These purchases could and should have been funded through bond issues.

Bond issues expire, lowering the tax levy, while the operating levy remains year after year. And funding through bond issues would have increased the general fund balance by $1.5 million.

Budget projections also show a surplus of approximately $1.9 million in the capital projects fund. This surplus comes unnecessarily at the expense of the deficit. However, once transferred to the capital projects fund, the money cannot be transferred back to the general fund.

This means we need to have school board members who will think in more creative ways and consider alternative approaches.

Recent public meetings were a step in the right direction, but we need board members who will follow through with action.

Only two candidates, Donna Tidwell and Kevin Schaper, support a complete review of the district's financial procedures and stopping unnecessary fund transfers. Both candidates state they will not endorse tax increases until careful long-range planning has been completed. If you agree, vote for Tidwell and Schaper.

MARK BAKER

FRITZ SANDER

Jackson, Mo.