LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: MAKE SURE TO VOTE AN INFORMED VOTE ON TUESDAY

To the Editor,

Clarification is needed about the tax increase the school board of Cape Girardeau is asking the voters of Cape Girardeau to approve. Proposition C was to provide additional money to the state's public schools through the advent of a state-wide 1 cent sales tax. Of the income generated by this sales tax and passed along to the schools, 1/2 of the total had to be matched by a reduction of the local citizens' property tax which was to proportionately equal 1/2 of the total they had received from the state. This was to give relief to property owners from the burden of the additional state 1 cent sales tax.

Now the school board is asking you to agree to be taxed more heavily, as they have on several occasions in recent elections. They use the illustration of several schools in our area that have approved of the Proposition C rollback. What they didn't tell you in their "gimme letter" was that most (if not all) of the schools mentioned had to increase their taxes in order to reach the new state mandated minimum of $2.75 per $100 assessed valuation. Cape is already over that minimum! Cape schools already tax you at $2.87 per $100 of assessed valuation. Most of the school districts they mentioned as voting for the waiver would have had drastically less money to operate their schools on next year. Some of the schools were not even paying $2 per $100 assessed valuation. The loss of matching state funds would have been devastating to them. Cape school district does not face any risk of losing matching funding because they are already taxing you 12 cents MORE per $100 than is required by the state's new formula.

Cape public schools will not have less money to operate on next year as the other districts they mentioned were facing. What they are trying to do through slick, veiled promotion and disguised information is to get you to vote yes through fear tactics. Surely if you vote for the waiver Cape schools will have more money ("New Funding") because -- you guessed it -- you have voted a raise on your property taxes and therefore, the state will kick-in additional matching funds.

If you want more taxes on your property (a tax hike) then vote yes for the waiver. If you feel that the Cape public schools already receive enough money and understand that they will receive approximately the same next year (unlike the other districts they used as examples to fool you) then you'll want to vote no on the waiver. Think about it. Be a good citizen and go vote. Make sure you cast an informed vote.

KENDAL HICKS

Cape Girardeau