SCC asking voters to join tax district

By Adam Rollins, Record Staff Writer
Posted 11/7/19

St. Charles Community College (SCC) is asking residents in the Wright City R-II and Warren County R-III school districts to join the community college’s taxing district.The question of annexing …

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SCC asking voters to join tax district

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St. Charles Community College (SCC) is asking residents in the Wright City R-II and Warren County R-III school districts to join the community college’s taxing district.The question of annexing into SCC’s district will appear as Proposition J on ballots April 2 with other municipal election items in both school districts.As part of joining the community college district, voters would have to agree to a real estate and personal property tax levy of 17.96 cents per $100 assessed valuation. If approved, local students would pay SCC's in-district tuition rate to attend classes.The ballot language reads (with identical text for Warren County R-III):Shall the Wright City R-II School District become a part of and be annexed to St. Charles Community College, also known as the Community College District of St. Charles, Missouri, effective July 1, 2019?If this question is approved, the overall tax levy in the School District will increase by the Community College tax levy of $0.1796 per one hundred dollars of assessed valuation.Part of Warren County would remain unaffected even if the tax increase is approved. Anyone who lives within the Washington School District, which includes the Marthasville area, would not be annexed into SCC. Washington School District is already part of the taxing district of East Central College in Franklin County.The annexation question was placed on ballots in the R-II and R-III school districts by the SCC Board of Trustees, which voted to approve the move Dec. 14, according to information submitted to the Warren County Clerk’s Office. Local school districts had previously voted to join SCC’s extended service area to participate in limited educational partnerships without any tax obligation.SCC President Dr. Barbara Kavalier said if R-II and R-III residents vote to join SCC’s tax district, the tax levy there would be used to support local technical training programs and eventually help fund a Warren County campus.“We recognize that employers in Warren County have a need for local technical training and we know that SCC can provide that training. Approval of a community college tax levy this April will provide the operational funds to offer training in the county and begin planning for a local campus,” Kavalier told The Record.The tax increase for affected property owners will depend on how their property is classified. Different types of property are taxed at only a percentage of their market value.For a $200,000 home, the owner would be paying about $68 per year in additional taxes if the SCC levy is approved. SCC staff said the median tax for homes in Warren County would be somewhat lower than that at $52 per year.The tax increase would also apply to personal property taxes, such as for vehicles.A committee of people from local businesses, governments and schools has been developing plans for a Warren County tech college. Leon Busdieker, co-chair of the committe, said bringing an SCC technical college to the area would benefit employees and businesses.“A technical training center in the community will enable our students and residents to acquire the highly technical skills that are needed to compete for the jobs of tomorrow, and will help our existing industries fill their current need for a highly skilled workforce,” Busdieker said.He added that a pipeline of new, highly trained workers would help the area attract businesses with well paying jobs that rely on those technical skills.St. Charles Community College SCC logo


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