Faced with the ongoing challenge of offering competitive salaries, the Warren County R-III School District has once again decided to engage the voters for support.

During its monthly meeting last Thursday, the R-III Board of Education unanimously approved the decision to place a tax levy proposition on the ballot for the April 7, 2020 election.

It will be the district’s second attempt to pass an increase in less than a year, with Proposition W being rejected by voters during this year’s Aug. 6 election. The board will again propose the same 39-cent increase, hoping to appeal to the public with a more clear explanation of exactly what the funds will go toward.

“We want to make changes in our ballot language to really specify where the money is going,” said Superintendent Dr. Gregg Klinginsmith.

He explained that the R-III salary schedule compares poorly to neighboring districts and emphasized the difficulties this presents for retaining staff.

“This is for the purpose of attracting and retaining certified and qualified staff,” said Klinginsmith. “We also need to be able to increase pay for support staff and food workers.”

If passed, the 39-cent tax increase would result in an additional $111.15 in annual tax, or $9.27 per month, on a home with an assessed valuation of $150,000. On a car valued at $10,000, that figure would be $12.98 per year.

Based on 2018-19 tax figures, the current R-III operating tax levy of $3.6159 per $100 of assessed property valuation is the third lowest among nine neighboring school districts, just above the Montgomery County and Washington school districts. When it comes to locally contributed tax dollars per student, Warren County ranks last among those nine. Washington is first in that category, with $9,280 per student, compared to R-III’s figure of $4,707 per student.

Klinginsmith said the funding discrepancy results from a combination of factors, including tax rate.

“What that’s based off of is the local tax formula, which is the tax rate times the assessed valuation,” said Klinginsmith. “That tells you how much money is being generated locally for students. Our assessed valuation is low per student, whereas Washington is higher per student.”

While R-III has a higher tax rate than Washington, the assessed valuation of property in R-III the district is significantly less.

“What really matters is how much money does your tax rate generate,” said Klinginsmith.

For a while, the school board was anticipating growth in local property values that might improve tax revenue  on its own.

“Last year we were talking about growth, and we were hoping to have growth to lessen our problem, but we aren’t seeing that,” said board member John Clinger.
Board members addressed the urgency of passing the proposition, given the current financial state of the district, which has evaluated expenditures closely to the bridge the salary gap.

“This is no longer a discussion of wasteful spending, which is a common complaint that is heard,” board member Dr. Chad Smith said. “We’re at a point where we face a risk of erasing programs if we stay where we’re at. That’s just the reality of where we are. Hopefully we can get that message out.”

The tax levy increase is part of the district’s effort toward meeting the board’s Comprehensive School Improvement Plan goal to “increase steps on the salary schedule to be within $3,000 of each step of the salary schedule for the Wentzville School District.”

As it stands, R-III falls significantly behind its neighbors to the east as the salary schedule progresses. Currently those at the low end of the salary schedule are within that $3,000 range. But at the highest salary progression, Wentzville school salaries surpass R-III by $17,430 annually.

“The district is hopeful to gain the support of the public through improved transparency and understanding of how the funds would benefit the district,” said School Board President Laurie Wenzel.

In terms of retaining teachers, R-III did see an improvement coinciding with the implementation of a four-day school week. However, at 86.9-percent retention, the district is still considerably shy of St. Charles County schools’ median retention rate of 91 percent.