JACKSON SCHOOLS TAX-HIKE VOTE SET

JACKSON, Mo. -- Voters in the Jackson School District will decide the fate of a 25-cent tax increase Aug. 7.

The Jackson Board of Education Tuesday night unanimously approved a resolution calling for the ballot proposal. Voters will be asked to fully eliminate the sales-tax rollback and increase the adjusted operating tax-levy ceiling to $3 per $100 assessed valuation.

A simple majority is needed to approve the tax hike.

A handful of residents spoke in support of the measure during Tuesday's meeting.

"I feel like there's a real demonstrated need, and I'm here to speak in favor of it," said Fred Jones, who retired as assistant superintendent of Jackson schools last year and has served as acting principal at the Primary Annex for most of the year.

Jack Litzelfelner Jr., who was campaign chairman of two failed attempts at passage of a 40-cent operating tax increase last year, said the lack of vocal opposition against the proposal is an "indication there's a shift in the mindset" of residents away from the resentment they expressed during previous elections.

Each board member explained how they felt about the measure before the vote was taken.

Reading from prepared notes, Mark Baker outlined a list of concerns that included questions about the accuracy of financial projections administrators have prepared in recent months, the possibility that voters would reject the proposal because property value reassessments are taking place in the same year a 10-cent tax increase to pay for improvements at the junior high school goes into effect, and the probability that money will be needed within the next few years to make improvements to the high school campus.

Schools superintendent Ron Anderson said money generated by the tax increase would provide funding to cover increased operating expenses, purchase additional library equipment and help reduce class sizes over the next three years.