The Trenton R-9 Board of Education unanimously voted against a tax rate ceiling adjustment at a special meeting on Wednesday morning.
The tax rate ceiling adjustment would have raised the incidental fund rate to $329.66 cents and the total tax levy to $419.66 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The debt service levy is 90 cents.
Board President Doug Franklin noted Trenton R-9 would have received about forty to fifty thousand dollars in additional money than the tax rate of $412.7 cents set at the last regular board meeting and about $62,000 more than last year’s tax rate.
Superintendent Mike Stegman said he worked on setting the tax rate with George K. Baum and Company of Kansas City, and he discovered something was “askew” after the board approved the rate noting the district’s evaluation increase did not keep up with inflation. He mentioned that if the board did not reset the tax rate ceiling now, it could affect the ceiling in the future.
Board member David Whitaker asked if the school district needed the money and Stegman said it was “all relative.”
Franklin said Trenton R-9’s tax rate looked the way it did because of Chapter 100 bonds with Nestle. The local government made a deal with Nestle for the company to make payment in lieu of taxes. It is required by the City of Trenton to receive funds, and the district expects to receive a check from Nestle in December for about $137,000. Franklin noted that the payment from Nestle will decrease after five years, but no one knows how it will “play out.” Board member Corey Leeper said he hated to hinge on what Nestle would do.
Whitaker said he thought the board should keep the tax rate where it was set at the last meeting but noted he could not predict the future, but he believed the school district did not need the money now. He said an increase in the tax rate would not really affect the district for five years operating-wise, and at that time, the board may have to look at cuts and operating more efficiently.
Board member Marcie Cutsinger said the community extended the 90-cent debt service levy, and she believed the board should keep taxes lower. Stegman said he was not looking for an excuse to raise taxes, He just noticed something was off. Franklin wanted to be transparent and let the community know what was happening.
The Trenton R-9 tax rate will stay at $412.7 cents, with the incidental fund at $322.7 cents and the debt service levy at 90 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.
The board unanimously approved the sale of seven million dollars of general obligation school building bonds.
George K. Baum and Company Senior Vice President Doctor Brent Blevins said Trenton R-9 had an “unbelievable sale” on Tuesday, and Stegman did “an outstanding job” on the phone with representatives from Standard and Poors. The bonds received an A Plus rating. The interest rate for the district would be two point eight percent for the first eight years and the highest rate it would have to pay. A potential one point eight nine percent interest rate would be paid after that.
Trenton R-9 was able to realize more than $794,600 in additional funds in the sale of the bonds, which Blevins said could be used for additional projects listed as alternatives in construction bid certifications.
The bids for construction are to be opened on Thursday, with the board holding a special meeting Wednesday, August 28, 2019, at 7:30 in the morning to accept bids.
