I want to give some insight into the MRH School District’s financial situation and encourage you, the voter, to VOTE YES on propositions B and E in the April 8 election. I am not speaking for the MRH Board of Education in its entirety and what I have to say should be construed as my opinion as a current MRH board member, business owner, and scientist.
Our teachers need raises and because of the Hancock amendment our revenue does not track with the inflation in property values or other costs, and so, effectively the MRH School District’s annual slight increases in revenue are not enough to match inflation’s effect on teachers’ lives.
I’m just barely old enough to remember the last period of high interest rates and significant inflation back in the late 70s and early 80s. At the time Missouri House Rep. Mel Hancock introduced an amendment to the State Constitution that limited the increase of property taxes to the lesser of the CPI, 5%, or the actual increase in assessed value. It was a response to the period of double-digit inflation brought on by the shock of the energy crisis a few years earlier that had raised property taxes way too quickly. Fast forward to the shock of the pandemic and we have had another significant inflationary period. The cost of goods is up on average 25%, and we all know that if you do not earn more, those costs essentially make you poorer. Hancock smooths out major jolts from housing bubbles, and works decently when inflation is steady and low, allowing schools to basically keep pace with costs. When year-to-year inflation is more than 5%, which has happened more than once since 2020, the District cannot keep up with expenses and it becomes necessary to ask voters to approve a change, and that is what I’m here to do.
The District leadership has come up with a way, PROP E, to raise our operating tax rate while simultaneously lowering our debt service rate. The NET EFFECT is ZERO INCREASE in PROPERTY TAXES. Proposition E costs you nothing, and gives the MRH School Board more operating funds to do what we need to do, which right now is raise teacher and staff salaries. Our teachers give their heart and soul, and they also have bills; and if we don’t pay them well, they will leave (and they have).
To address cost of living concerns, the Board has raised salaries recently but at the expense of postponing much needed maintenance, repair, and replacement of school facilities. We, as a Board, understand that the District has undertaken significant construction recently at the high school / middle school and during a time of great national disruption. We also understand that the district has been paying off debt as quickly as possible. Additionally, we acquired the former sleep clinic and made it into our new central office by borrowing money under a different mechanism. What you, my reader, probably do not know is that a multi-year effort has gone on to identify all of the needed maintenance, to secure reasonable estimates for repair or replacement costs, and to develop a 20-year plan to understand the maintenance needs of all of our physical infrastructure. Proposition B is SUFFICIENT FUNDING to allow us to ACCOMPLISH about 10 YEARS of PROJECTS while undertaking additional long-term planning regarding facility management. The good news of all this planning is that the fundamentals of our infrastructure are sound, and the student population forecast is stable (no new needs). The Cordogan Clark report (March Board meeting) makes that clear, and it maps out and prioritizes what and when we need to address every primary component of our infrastructure for 20 years. We need this bond money to advance these projects and if we do not get it, it will lead to even more expenses as we try to fix what will only shortly break again. Prop B DOES NOT RAISE YOUR TAXES, but it does allow the district to PAY FOR MUCH NEEDED MAINTENANCE, REPAIRS, and REPLACEMENTS.
The Board of Education takes its fiduciary role very seriously, and this Board has been tirelessly looking at ways to lower costs or transfer support to teachers, our primary educational asset. I strongly encourage you to go watch our BOE meetings on the YouTube link below. Watch how the cost associated with items and projects is scrutinized by board members; watch how the budget and salary increases have been sliced and diced numerous ways to figure out what we can and cannot afford; and watch us look for expenses we can cut to support these changes while preserving and extending quality education. The hawks continue to swoop to where money is being spent and evaluate how to cover costs in different ways or eliminate expenses that are less pressing. I feel this instance of the Board is looking for a leaner and more efficient District and we are getting there by bringing strong planning and long-term surveillance to our capital costs, including digital tracking and up-to-date pricing, so we can replace before end-of-life, when needed, and fix or renew before a failure.
We are not asking you for more tax money; we are asking you to authorize us to shift where we spend money and allow us to borrow money (bonds) to preserve what we have. I hope this piece assuages any anxiety to VOTE YES on both PROPS B and E. So that we can BE your advocates. I encourage you to reach out to me, or any school board member, by going to our MRH District website or calling the District.
Dr. Trenton Colbert
MRH School Board Director
Maplewood Resident
trent.colbert@mrhschools.net
MRH BOE Meeting Youtube Archive
MRH BOE
Very well said, Greg! When our former mayor, Andy Hummert spent a few months on the school board, their casualness with other peoples money scared him out of Maplewood. At the time they had a roofing problem and just called a roofer to fix it without any bidding or price comparing. I think a lot of their purchasing decisions are made just as casually.
Thank you for your input Sir! This detail should provide the insight for positive support for the April 8 propositions. As a citizen, alum, former parent and former school board member in Maplewood and the MRH school district, I recognize the precedence, thought, preparation and care provided in the information provided here. It is inspiring to have our schools in such good hands. May many read and share!
My property taxes have increased from $2045 in 2014 to $3575 in 2024. Now I’m not the brightest porchlight on the block, but if my math is correct, that’s a 75% increase, and much of that was during a time of low inflation. That’s an annual rate of 5.75%, wish I could make that on my bank account at Citizen’s National While your story sounds good, the numbers do not support the argument unless only looking at one or two years vs. a more realistic 5-10 years. What is an average teacher salary, what have been the increases in salary and benefits over the last 5-10 years? I can tell you that until a couple of years ago, average increases in the private sector where at best 3% and it’s back to 3%.
Where are all of these studies regarding the required maintenance, etc. What was the cost of the building on Big Bend, why was it needed? $1.5 million? All of these additions have an ongoing cost (maintenance, utilities, etc)associated with them as well, how has that been factored into budgets? It’s another thing to pay off the bond, it’s another thing to pay for the ongoing expenses associated with it. The Big Bend building was built in 1930, 1940? So it’s going to need constant repair. The asking price for the two buildings sold across from the library were sold well below market value, why?
Lastly, have never seen an explanation of how The District leadership has come up with a way, PROP E, to raise our operating tax rate while simultaneously lowering our debt service rate. The NET EFFECT is ZERO INCREASE in PROPERTY TAXES. Going to borrow more money to break even? There is an old saying, it it sounds to good to be true, it probably is. There is a financial analysis behind this, where is it? The “trust me” strategy should not work. A few years from now going to need a tax increase to pay off the bonds as you are borrowing at the highest interest rate in 10 years. Sorry, I can’t go there, not enough info and hopefully other taxpayers are questioning this as well. Many residents of Maplewood are on fixed incomes, forever, not for a 2 year deal. Maplewood Schools have gotten a lot of money over the last decade.