Tuesday, August 5, is a special election day in Missouri. Absentee voting is open now; the last day to register is Wednesday, July 9.
The Pleasant Hope School District, just north of Springfield in Polk County, will have an item on the ballot this August.
The school district is asking its voters to move tax revenue from its debt service fund into its operating funds. Per the ballot language, the district estimates an increase of $.20 per $100 of assessed valuation in its operating tax levy and an equivalent reduction in its debt service tax levy. Pleasant Hope Superintendent Shaundra Ingram said the change could give the district approximately $144,000 annually in additional operating funds and help it keep up with risings costs without asking for more money from the public.
“It's one way that we can essentially use the same money to do more for our teachers,” Ingram said, “and part of that is because the district has been responsible, and we've done the very best that we can with our funds."
Ingram said, along with day-to-day costs like food and fuel, Pleasant Hope is also trying to keep up with the rising cost of staff salaries and benefits.
“Just being able to increase all of that and continue to increase it and sustain it responsibly,” Ingram explained, “so that that we're continuing to pay down debt, we're continuing to use those tax dollars responsibly, but we're able to compensate our staff in a way that we retain high quality staff, that's really one of the key pieces.”
Voters in the Pleasant Hope R-6 District will vote on the change August 5.