| Today's Feature
Carthage
R-9 School District Tax Rate.
new release
Jasper County residents
received statements recently from the Jasper
County Assessor informing them of the increased
assessed values of their properties as a result
of reassessment. The question becomes, "How
much more tax will we have to pay?"
Cities and schools districts
are supposed to reduce their tax levies to avoid
receiving a windfall of new revenue resulting
from reassessment. However, local districts have
more to consider than local taxes in making that
decision. For example, the state minimum that
school districts are required to levy is $2.75
per $100 of assessed valuation as established by
the Outstanding Schools Act of 1993 (Senate Bill
380). The penalty for failing to levy the state
minimum would be loss of accreditation with the
Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary
Education and loss of all state revenues, which
in 2000-2001 totaled almost $6,000,000, according
to Dr. Gary Reed, Superintendent.
However, a district can levy
less than $2.75 when the district’s tax levy
ceiling falls below $2.75, a category for which
the R-9 District hasn’t qualified until this
year due to reassessment. Since the
district’s tax levy ceiling has dropped to
$2.6501, the district has the option of approving
a levy ranging from $2.6501 up to $2.75 to comply
with state statutes.
The catch is that the state
funding formula rewards districts with more state
funding if they collect more locally. So,
Superintendent Reed says, "Under the state
formula, the more you collect locally, the more
you get from the state."
The local district also has the
option to utilize Amendment 2, which was approved
by the voters of Jasper County and the State of
Missouri in 1998, to set local levy at the state
minimum of $2.75.
The Carthage R-9 School
District’s tax levy for operating expenses
in 2000-2001 was $2.75 per $100 assessed
valuation. Operating expenses include salaries,
supplies, textbooks, equipment, utilities and
some capital improvements. The debt service levy
was $0.56 for payment on the district’s debt
for facilities. The total levy was $3.31 per $100
assessed valuation.
Because of reassessment, the
district’s assessed valuation has grown from
$183,260,640 to $229,849,640, about a 25%
increase.
In Carthage, Reed says the
difference in local revenue between levies of
$2.6501 and $2.75 is about $225,000. By
collecting that extra tax locally, the district
will qualify for an additional $284,699 in state
funding. Reed pointed out that the state match on
local funds up to the $2.6501 mark is about 90
cents in state funds for every dollar collected
locally. However, for every additional dollar
collected under a $2.75 local levy, the state
formula match would be about $1.26.
Reed added, "When we find
grant opportunities that we want to pursue, we
always feel good about 50/50 matching funds from
the state. This is better than a 50/50
match."
Reed also stated that the
additional funds are needed to continue to
improve the educational opportunities for our
children and for salary increases for teachers.
"Our children will go into the workplace or
to colleges and universities across the country,
and we need to provide them an equal opportunity
to compete globally. Many of the districts across
the state levy taxes of $5.00 to $6.00 per $100
assessed valuation, and Missouri is toward the
bottom in expenditures for education compared to
other states. Our children deserve the same types
of opportunities other children have. If we
don’t maintain the $2.75 levy, there will be
very little growth in revenues for several years
to maintain the programs we have worked so hard
to build." Reed further commented,
"Teacher salaries are always an important
factor in being able to attract and retain the
best people possible to work with our children.
The teacher shortage is real, and we need to do
all we can to provide the very best staff
possible."
According to Reed, all of the
districts in Jasper County have indicated that
plans to approve an operating levy of $2.75.
The Carthage R-9 Board of
Education will be setting the local property tax
levy for 2001-2002 at a public tax rate hearing
in conjunction with their regular monthly meeting
at 7:00 p.m., on Monday, August 20, in the
Steadley Elementary School multipurpose room.
Commentary
Martin
"Bubs" Hohulin
State Representative, District 126
There were three special
elections held this week to fill vacant House
seats. As expected, the one in St. Louis was won
by the democrat candidate. The one in extreme
north Missouri that was expected to be won by the
republican was won by the democrat and the
district just south of that was won by the
republican.
Both seats up north had been
held by republicans, so the democrats actually
ended up with a net gain of one seat. As has been
happening in special elections recently, record
amounts of money were spent in these races. My
biggest concern is that this now gives Gov. Bob
Holden one more vote for his outrageous policies.
The interesting thing in these
elections were the way both sets of candidates
conducted their campaign. As expected, the
republican candidates talked about how they were
against what Gov. Holden has been proposing and
doing.
What was strange was that was
exactly what the democrat candidates were also
doing. Both democrat candidates were doing all
they could to distance themselves from Gov.
Holden. It will be interesting to see how far
that goes once he is sworn into office.
I still remember when I was
first elected and met the other newly elected
representatives. I was struck by how conservative
they all sounded, even the democrats. I remember
thinking how great it would be to work with so
many like minded people.
Boy, did things change after we
were sworn in! They started voting for every
liberal proposal that came along. When I would
ask them about it, they would look sheepish and
shrug their shoulders.
The fact is that if they wanted
a nicer office, better committee assignments,
committee chairmanships, etc. they had to do what
the leadership told them to do.
I guess that was one of the few
advantages of being in the minority party. Our
leadership has nothing to offer in the way of
‘incentives’, and I guess I would hope
we wouldn’t operate that way even if we were
in the majority. After spending the whole
campaign distancing himself from Gov. Holden, I
am anxious to see how he holds up on the first
major issue that comes up. I wish him strength
and fortitude. He is going to need it.
Speaking of Gov. Holden and his
policies, a lot of government workers are really
upset about his executive order regarding
unionization. They don’t want money taken
out of their paychecks to go to union bosses and
I don’t blame them.
There have been some letters to
the editor and we are going to have to keep a
close eye out so that there is no retaliation
against those workers brave enough to speak out
against this money grab.
As usual, I can be reached at
House Post Office, State Capitol, Jefferson City,
MO 65101, or 1-800-878-7126, or
mhohulin@services.state.mo.us for your questions,
comments, or advice.
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