ST. CHARLES COUNTY 鈥 A property tax increase sought by the Francis Howell School District in Tuesday鈥檚 election has sparked political controversy and a court fight.
District officials and other supporters say the increase 鈥 90 cents for each $100 of assessed value 鈥 is needed to maintain current class sizes, attract and keep top-notch teachers and retain the district鈥檚 good academic reputation.
They also warn that big reductions in staff and programs are likely over the next two years if the proposition doesn鈥檛 get the simple majority of votes needed for passage. Going to a four-day school week and reducing bus transportation and athletics are among the possibilities.
鈥淚t will give us the resources we need to continue to be cutting-edge,鈥 Kevin Supple, the district鈥檚 chief financial officer, said of the tax plan.
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With about 17,000 students, the district is the sixth-largest on the Missouri side of the metro area.
Opponents question the size of the request, which would boost the district鈥檚 operating tax levy by 20 percent and raise about $20 million annually. For a home valued at $200,000, taxes would go up $342 a year.
Moreover, opponents argue that the Francis Howell School Board should have asked voters for higher taxes before approving salary increases for teachers, administrators and other staffers.
A contract passed by the board in late 2013 gave teachers a 6.5 percent salary boost in the 2014-15 school year and a 5 percent increase in the coming year.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a spending problem, not a revenue problem,鈥 said Stephen Johnson, a former School Board member who is part of an opposition group called Citizens Against Spending Excess.
Supple said the board viewed the raises 鈥渁s an investment in the future of our kids鈥 and pointed out that some of the additional pay is for three added work days each year for teachers.
He said even if the salary hikes had not been approved, the district would still face financial pressures. Among them: A loss of $4 million a year with the expiration last year of a temporary 20-cent tax levy approved in 2004.
In addition, property tax revenue has been flat and the district hasn鈥檛 gotten as much state money as projected in recent years because the state aid formula hasn鈥檛 been fully funded by the Legislature.
In January, the board approved cuts of more than $8 million for the coming school year, including reducing staff by about 80 employees 鈥 about half of them teachers. Almost all of those job losses are being handled by attrition. Officials warn that much deeper trims will occur if the tax increase fails.
鈥淵ou can only cut so much (before) performance levels fall off,鈥 said board president Mark Lafata.
Last year, the district was among the top 10 in the metro area regarding the percentage of students passing state math and communications arts tests. The district also scored high among area school systems in the state鈥檚 annual performance report.
The timing of Tuesday鈥檚 vote is an issue. Because the Howell proposition is the only thing on the ballot in the district鈥檚 part of the county, the district must pay more than $260,000 in election costs.
Had the board instead put the issue on the April ballot, designated for municipal and school board elections, the district鈥檚 extra cost would have been only about $500, said Rich Chrismer, county elections director.
He said that would have been in addition to the $57,000 the district was already paying to run its regular April election for school board seats.
District leaders said the board didn鈥檛 put the issue on the ballot in April partly because the state had yet to finish its budget process. They also said the board needed time for polling of residents to be completed so the results could be used in the board鈥檚 decision-making.
Meanwhile, they said, if the proposition was delayed until next April, the extra revenue from the tax hike wouldn鈥檛 be available for the coming school year.
Chrismer said voter turnout Tuesday in the district is unlikely to exceed 10 percent. Opposition committee members say one of their main goals is to let people know there is an election.
They worry that supporters are working to inform parents, district employees and other likely favorable voters but that most of the general public may stay home.
A related court fight flared this week over Chrismer鈥檚 rejection of several dozen absentee ballot applications mailed in together by the district鈥檚 communications director, Jennifer Henry. Many were from students who were recruited to register to vote at senior graduation parties run by parent clubs in the spring.
Chrismer said he interpreted state law to require voters wanting to cast absentee ballots to mail in their applications individually or personally bring them in.
After Henry sued to challenge Chrismer鈥檚 action, St. Charles County Circuit Judge Jon Cunningham ruled that state law allowed the group submission by Henry.
A private campaign committee pushing for passage of the tax measure expects to spend close to $12,000, while the opposition group says its total spending will be less than $2,000. Both sides are putting up yard signs and mailing campaign materials; the support group ran some ads at two movie theaters.
Property tax propositions had a mixed record in the April election in neighboring school districts. The Wentzville district won passage of a 25-cent property tax hike but Fort Zumwalt voters said no to a 48-cent increase.
