SCHOOLS TURN TO VOTERS FOR FISCAL RELIEF

Five area school districts are appealing to voters to pass tax levy increases in Tuesday's election.

Two of those districts are also asking voters to approve bond issues for building improvements.

The tax levy increase propositions, needing simple majorities to pass, go before voters Tuesday in school districts at Perryville, Advance, Patton, Delta, and Jackson. Polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.

Being sought are:

A 35-cent tax increase by the Jackson R-2 School District. The extra money is needed to keep the district from slipping into deficit spending and to maintain current staff levels and programs, said district Superintendent Wayne Maupin.

A 19-cent tax increase by Perry County School District No. 32 to pay for two teachers' and one counselor's salaries, as well as building maintenance costs.

A 61-cent increase by the Delta R-5 School District. Money from the increase would go towards reroofing the elementary and high school buildings. The heating system at the elementary building would also be replaced with a heating and air-conditioning system.

A 38-cent tax hike by the Advance School District. If approved the proposition would fund improvements and repairs to school buildings, replace school buses, and be used to purchase other equipment and supplies.

A 98-cent tax boost that would generate an estimated $95,000 for the Meadow Heights school district at Patton. Superintendent Tom Waller has said if the measure fails, school programs totalling $113,000 will be cut.

The Perryville and Advance districts are also seeking the bond issues.

The Perryville issue, at $4.9 million, would be used to overhaul school buildings. Advance's $350,000 bond issue would finance the construction of additional elementary school classrooms.

The number of Missouri school districts seeking tax levy increases was unavailable Friday. Carl Sitze, director for school classification with the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, said he knew of no one at the state level who collected that information prior to elections.

Sitze also said he didn't have a feel for whether the number of area districts seeking tax increases was typical compared to other areas of the state. A number of state education supervisors have said the districts in their areas are going before voters with a bond or levy increase, he said.

Sitze said he thought many school districts are going after tax increases to counter state funding reductions. The state's financing of school desegregation in Kansas City and St. Louis also has had an effect, he said.

He said he didn't know if Proposition B, the state's education tax and reform package that was defeated by voters in November, would have kept so many districts from going after tax increases.

"You don't know how far reaching Proposition B would have been if it would have passed. I don't feel real comfortable tracing it back to Proposition B," said Sitze.

Factory closings have had an impact on state funding, he said. When a plant closes and people work less hours or lose their jobs altogether, he said, they don't have money to spend. That, in turn, causes the state to bring in less money from taxes, Sitze said.

Missouri's metropolitan areas really provide much of the support for education across the state, he said. In St. Louis, Sitze said, if a plant that employs 3,000 people closes, and those people average salaries of $30,000 per year, the impact is tremendous.

"You just multiply that time and time again. We've had that across the state of Missouri. You can see why revenues have declined and haven't been able to keep up with the need in education and other state services."