SJSD board advances plan to shift 15 cents of tax levy—total rate unchanged

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV)-- The St. Joseph School District Board of Education voted unanimously to move forward with a plan that would shift part of the district’s tax levy from debt service to day-to-day operations, without raising the overall tax rate.

Board members voted 5-0 to have ballot language drafted for review in December. At that meeting, the board is expected to take an official vote on a resolution to transfer 15 cents from the Debt Service Fund to the General Fund.

The proposed tax levy is split among four funds:

• Fund 1 (incidental/general): Covers most day-to-day expenses. Proposed rate: $4.3558.
• Fund 2 (teachers’ fund): Used only for salaries and benefits. Proposed rate: $0.
• Fund 3 (debt service): Pays general obligation bond debt. Proposed rate: $0.5605.
• Fund 4 (capital projects): Pays for equipment and capital projects. Proposed rate: $0.

Together, the funds total a proposed tax rate of $4.9163.

Assistant Superintendent of Business and Operations Robert Hedgecorth said the finance committee proposed moving part of the debt service levy into the general fund.

“It allows the district to move funds from a debt service fund to your general or incidental fund while leaving the overall tax rate unchanged,” he said.

Hedgecorth said the transfer would need voter approval in the April election and would pass with a simple majority.

Under the proposal, 15 cents would move from debt service to the general fund. Fund 1 would rise to $4.5058, Fund 3 would fall to $0.4105, and the overall rate would remain $4.9163, he said.

If voters approve the measure in April, the district would have more money available for operating expenses, including employee salaries and benefits. If the measure fails, the overall levy and taxpayers’ bills would stay the same.

Although the item was listed for action, board members did not approve final ballot language at the meeting. Instead, they voted to draft the language for a December review and official vote.

The motion to approve a resolution at the December Board of Education meeting to transfer $0.15 from the Debt Service Fund to the General Fund passed 5-0. Board members Jennifer Kerns and Cassandra Veale were not present.