Columbia Public Schools cuts budget by nearly $6 million, citing court ruling
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Missouri court decision will mean a cut of about $6 million to Columbia Public Schools' budget, the district's chief financial officer said Thursday.
The Columbia Board of Education met Thursday to discuss how the tax cuts due to a court decision in Franklin County will affect the school district's budget.
In Blankenship V. Franklin County, a taxpayer challenged the county and school district over the way taxes are calculated. The appeals court ruled in favor of the taxpayer, deciding that the tax calculations were unconstitutional because they allowed districts to raise the tax rate greater than a voter-approved rate.
This court decision will affect every public school district in Missouri, but Columbia Public Schools was hit particularly hard because 52% of its budget comes from property and personal taxes, district officials said. CPS relies heavily on property taxes because it's one of 5% of school districts in the state that do not exempt taxpayers from Prop C.
Prop C is rollback that saves taxpayers money. Under the proposition, property and personal taxes are reduced because it's understood taxpayers are also paying sales tax. Board members said they may consider exempting themselves from Prop C in the coming years to make up for the loss in revenue due to the court decision.
Despite these cuts, taxpayers will still see an increase in taxes because property values in Columbia have increased. Heather McArthur, chief financial officer for CPS, estimates the increase will be about $25 for a $250,000 home. If it were not for the court decision, the increase would have been closer to $200.
For the school district, these cuts will equate to nearly $6 million. McArthur told ABC 17 News that CPS will be able to cover the loss with money it already has in the bank this year without cutting services, but the future doesn't look good.
"In the next couple years we might have to think about how we can generate some extra revenue or find some deficiencies in our expenditures to be able to balance that deficit spending," McArthur said.
Board member Blake Willoughby said at the hearing the board may have to reevaluate its priorities to address the budget needs sooner.
"This might need to become what is our primary focus for this board instead of waiting for the next couple boards to have to deal with that," Willoughby said.
If the district wants to raise taxes it would have to bring the question before voters.
