KSHB 41 News reporter Braden Bates covers parts of Jackson County, Missouri, including Lee's Summit. Send Braden a story idea by e-mail.
—
The Lee's Summit voters approved a full waiver of Proposition C, which increases property taxes for the district to give staff a 4.1% raise.
Voters approved the waiver in a 60% to 40% vote with more than 16,500 ballots cast after 100% of the precincts reported.
The district will join the other 91% of Missouri school districts that receive a full waiver of Prop C.
Jackson County
Lee's Summit voters to decide on property tax increase for school staff raises
Prop C is a 1% statewide sales tax that's given back to school districts based on the number of students. In return, the districts were required to roll back their property tax levy.
This would lower property tax values. In 2008, Lee's Summit voters approved a partial Prop C waiver, which gave the district more money but increased the tax levy.
With voters approving the full waiver on April 7, the district will receive full funding for the sales tax without having to roll back property taxes.
The LSR-7 School District currently ranks 13th in staff salaries in the KC metro area, with a starting base salary of $44,180.
Voters shared their voices during the election. Bill Carr was in favor of the approval and said it's a small price to pay for appropriately compensating school staff.
"All of us saw the debacle of property taxes here in Jackson County in the last few years. So, I think anytime you talk about trying to increase taxes, that's a concern and a fear, but I think when you know that it's going directly to education and it's just being adjusted to help with that education. I think it makes it a lot easier to sell," Carr said.
But not everyone was in favor of the Prop C waiver.
"When will they ever not need more money? They will always spend every dollar we give them. So, how do we hold the district accountable for what they already have? When is it too much, especially when we have declining enrollment?" said Kristin Gruggs, who formerly had kids in the district and is a graduate of LSR-7 school.
Superintendent David Buck said that with the approval of the Prop C waiver, the districts' raises will go above the inflation level.
If the voters did not approve the Prop C waiver, the teacher and staff would still get a raise, but it would be 2.3%, below inflation.
Superintendent Buck also said it would have forced the district to dip into their reserve funds.
—
