During its monthly meeting July 21, the Wright City R-II School Board discussed possible figures for its proposed tax levy increase to be placed on the ballot for the November election.A range of numbers was presented, with Superintendent David Buck explaining the implications of each proposed raise level.The final determined figure will be inserted into the ballot language and voted on at the Aug. 18 board meeting, as the filing deadline for the election is the following week.“Our goal is to increase salaries to compete with our neighboring districts,” said Buck. “When we spoke with our students about their greatest concerns, they expressed the need to keep our best teachers in the district.”Currently, R-II loses the greatest amount of its teachers to the Francis Howell, Parkway, Troy and Wentzville school districts — in that order.“In the fall it was discussed that at least moving toward Troy’s base and increasing the steps the first two decades from $575 to $800 would be a place to be,” said Buck.“Troy is the closest to us in terms of teachers pay. At that time we needed 52 cents to accomplish that.”According to a telephone poll of 400 voters in the district taken by PatronInsight this past April, 60 percent indicated they would vote yes at that 52-cent amount for increasing salaries for competitiveness. At 44 cents, there was a 62-percent positive response.The most recent shift in the salary schedules has adjusted those numbers. This year Troy raised its base by $650, while Wright City increased by $1,500.“That helped close the gap,” said Buck. “Now to catch them, it would take 32 cents.”Wright City School District