By Tim SchmidtRecord Managing EditorFor months, officials with the Wright City R-II School District have sought feedback on how they should move forward with a funding dilemma.Each time the response was favorable to move forward with a levy measure to provide additional funding. Next Tuesday, April 7, it will be up to voters to see whether or not they agree.Voters are being asked to fund a 49-cent increase to the R-II district’s operating tax levy. As part of the ballot measure, known as Proposition S, 10 cents of the existing levy earmarked for debt service will be shifted to the operating levy, resulting in a net increase to taxpayers of 39 cents per each $100 of assessed valuation.If approved, the district will use the additional funding to increase salaries for teachers and staff, move forward with a mobile learning device initiative, and expand early childhood services.A simple majority is needed to be pass the levy increase. The last time district voters approved an increase in the operating levy was 1993.“It’s the lack of funding from the state that has precipitated this need,” Superintendent Dr. Chris Gaines said.Currently, the district’s operating levy is $3.0995 per $100 of assessed valuation, with the debt levy set at $1.097. If the ballot measure is passed, the district’s operating levy will increase to $3.5895 and the debt service levy will drop to $0.997. That will keep R-II in the middle of the pack when compared to other adjacent school districts.For a resident within the R-II district with a $100,000 home, the tax increase would be an additional $6.18 per month; a $150,000 home would be $9.26; and a $200,000 home would be $12.35.Gaines said more and more school districts will be seeking tax increases in the future due to the state not fully funding the school formula for the past five years. For the R-II district, that means the district has missed out in an additional $550,000 in funding this year. For the past five years, the amount is closer to $3 million.“We have seen the burden of funding schools shift from the state to local taxpayers,” Gaines said. “It is a scene we have seen played out across the state. We think it will probably play out more over the next five years. Starting in 2017, you will start to see income reductions that the legislature passed last year.”The bulk of the funds from the proposed tax hike will go toward making staff salaries more competitive so the district can recruit and retain the best teachers. For R-II teachers, the longer they stay the less competitive their pay is compared to other districts within a 30-mile radius to the ease, such as Francis Howell and the Parkway school districts, according to Gaines.Passage of the propose levy would help address the gap in pay. The district’s salary study group recommendations would offer a $1,000 increase in the salary steps and a $1,500 increase in the base.“The longer you stay with us, the more educated you get, the less competitive your pay is going to be compared to the area. Our board has a goal that all of our employees has competitive salaries and benefits. “When we talked to the community, salaries were no doubt the priority of the group.”The proposed tax increase would fund the district’s planned mobile learning initiative set to launch in the 2016-2017 school years. All students in grades four through high school would receive Chromebooks to use for schoolwork.In addition, construction on a new preschool building is currently underway on Bell Road, just south of the district’s administrative offices. Approximately 100 students will attend the school four days a week.To maximize funding, the district proceeded with construction this year so that the stage is paying 89 percent of the costs of the new facility, which will be paid back over an eight-year period, Gaines said.That will allow the R-II district to fund a small portion of the operating costs and provide free tuition to preschool students.“We thought that was a pretty good deal for the community,” Gaines said.Prop S puts focus on salaries, mobile learning, preschool