St. Louis Public Schools mulls tax increase for payroll deficit

ST. LOUIS – Saint Louis Public Schools is considering a tax hike to help cover payroll, among other challenges.

According to the St. Louis Post Dispatch, after its most successful revenue year on record, the school district faces a $35 million operating budget deficit after negotiating $32 million in staff raises last spring .

Now those raises for managers and other non-teaching staff are delayed indefinitely. On Tuesday, the board of education approved a resolution to pursue a tax levy hike this coming school year. The proposition will be presented at a public meeting in September.

“This is just an option for the board based on some of the challenges we know are forthcoming,” Chief Financial Officer Angie Banks said. “We just implemented some significant salary increases.”

Banks said the district has voluntarily not asked for any tax hike, even though it was due for one. Elementary and secondary school emergency relief funds were the reason why.

“The board has made the fiscally responsible decision to limit property tax revenue growth by voluntarily reducing the tax rate,” Banks said at the meeting.

Last year, residents paid about $4.05 per $100 of assessed property value. A potential tax levy increase would be capped at $4.50, a figure voters approved in 2016 through Proposition 1.

The property tax increase would bring in an additional $6 million annually and would not require approval from city voters.

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