R-5 board sets tax levy

The Nevada R-5 school board faced the yearly task of setting the tax rate at its August meeting. Superintendent Ted Davis said he sent his preliminary figures for the district's tax rate ceiling in to the state auditors office to make sure of their accuracy before calculating the rate. "I sent the figures in because it's better to have them correct before finalizing the rate because they will be corrected if they're wrong." Among the factors contributing to the districts financial woes was the decrease of more than $4 million in assessed valuation from the districts personal property tax rolls and a $95,500 decrease in agricultural real estate. Increases in residential and commercial real estate nearly offset the decrease but fell short by $525,000. Davis showed the board figures detailing where the district gets its money. Approximately 42 percent is local, 46 is state and 12 percent is federal. Davis said the state's share had been decreasing since the 2001-02 school year when the shortfall was $50,000. The shortage in 2002-03 was $200,000 and the expected shortfall in 2003-04 is $800,000. Last year's tax rate for the district was 3.37, the tax rate ceiling for the district is 3.5675, voluntary reductions by the board changed the rate to 3.47. Davis said he felt it was the best compromise considering the changing financial picture. "It's 10 cents more than last year's rate but it's 10 cents less than we could get." Davis reported the boards auditors had finished their annual audit and that fewer items of concern had been brought up than in previous years. "We accomplished this with fewer individuals in the office to handle this. It's been a trying time. We appreciate their work and we're happy to see them but we're also happy to see them go." The board voted to join the Committee for Educational Equality which has been established by several Missouri school districts. The committee's goal is to "secure an equitable and adequate level of educational resources" for public school students. The committee is planning to contest the foundation formula that has determined how much state money districts get. Currently per-pupil expenditures in Missouri range from $4,561 in McDonald County to $13,748 in Clayton. Nevada spends $5,791 per pupil which is $340 less than the median of $6,131. Davis pointed out that although Nevada's per-pupil expenditure was low the district's students performed well on the mandated tests and the district was accredited with distinction. The board approved a contract with AuditHead, a company that investigates the utility bills of public entities to make sure that the entities aren't charged taxes inappropriately. Their record shows they save their clients approximately 18 percent on utility fees. The company is paid from the savings of their clients, in the districts case 40 percent of the savings will go to the company. In other business the board: *Declared stored items surplus property. The items will be organized and an auction will be conducted in the fall. * Reviewed and approved the Board Member Conflict of Interest and Financial Disclosure policy, which will be sent to the Missouri Ethics Commission.