By Derrick ForsytheRecord Staff WriterFollowing a lengthy discussion last Thursday, the Wright City R-II School District has decided it will wait until November 2016 to pursue another tax levy increase.The board also chose to hire an outside surveying firm to poll the 6,342 registered voters within the district in an effort to gauge what type of increase the public would support.This decision was made partly in response to the district’s inability to pass a ballot issue in April.“If you look at the districts around us that have done this, it increased their ability to know what voters will approve,” said Superintendent David Buck.Board members discussed the value of funding the service, which is expected to cost around $16,000. The firm would make phone calls to registered voters six to nine months in advance of the election until it was able to yield 400 completed surveys.Buck says the district’s next move is to seek bids and decide between the two companies in Eastern Missouri that offer this service.“We’ll look to approve a bid in the next month or two and start surveying the community in February or March,” said Buck. “We feel like that feedback will be really helpful in us coming up with a good budget and campaign plan.”This is only the third time in the past 23 years that R-II has taken a tax levy increase to the voters. A 66-cent increase failed in 1992, while the district sought a 49-cent hike in April. That ballot measure was rejected 354-265.The April proposal was intended for teacher salary increases, funding for one-on-one computers in the district and for free tuition to the newly opened early childhood education center.The latest tax levy proposal will be used solely for funding teacher salary increases. Buck presented six options for the salary step system, ranging from increased base pay to higher incentive pay for those earning beyond a bachelor’s degree. The board did not lock down a specific figure for the increase, as Buck says that will be part of the ballot language to be approved at a later date.“We’ve got plenty of time to make those decisions, and we will have the salary committee meet to talk more about this topic,” he said.Presently, the district has an operating tax levy of $3.12, well below that of the five bordering districts and the state expected rate of $3.43.In regards to selecting the November election date over April, board members considered several factors. As it stands, two other entities also are considering tax increases for the April election.Board members also are enticed by the potential of high voter turnout during the November election with a presidential race on the ballot. But perhaps most prominent in the decision-making process was the district’s desire to have ample time to gain feedback from the public and develop a plan in moving forward.“An April increase would have impacted the salaries sooner but would have put us in a real tight window to get everything prepared,” said Buck.By waiting until November, an increase would not impact salaries until the 2017-18 school year.Buck says the district is not currently in a situation where it would have to make salary or personnel cuts for the 2016-17 school year.Wright City R-II