51ºÚÁÏ

The law would require the three counties and others to place a measure on local ballots by the April municipal elections, asking voters whether property tax bills should be frozen for homeowners.

Residential real estate taxes represent one of the largest sources of revenue for Missouri public schools.

A revenue freeze would cause most affected public school districts to lose out on millions of dollars each year amid the grip of rising costs of labor and supplies.

Education officials worry the law could lead to cuts in services or staff.

“This would have a significant impact on us,� said Carrie Schwierjohn, superintendent of Meramec Valley R-III School District in Franklin County.

At least five area school boards, including City of St. Charles, Ft. Zumwalt, Orchard Farm, Meramec Valley and Crystal City have voted to challenge the validity of the law signed by Gov. Mike Kehoe in June. The suit has yet to be filed.

“We are committed to protecting the services our families rely on,� said Taylor Massa, superintendent of Crystal City School District.

The property tax provision was slipped into a major bill during the special legislative session this summer.

mainly grabbed headlines because it contained a $1.5 billion stadium subsidy plan to keep Kansas City sports teams in Missouri.

The property tax provision was one of the sweeteners added to the bill to get members of the hard-right Freedom Caucus to vote for stadium subsidies, just as $100 million for 51ºÚÁÏ tornado relief was a way to get Democrats on board.

The provision would limit property tax increases in 97 of Missouri’s 114 counties.

Twenty two of those, including St. Charles, Franklin and Jefferson counties in the 51ºÚÁÏ area, would have their property tax revenues from real estate frozen unless voters approve tax rate increases or homeowners improve their properties.

The other 75 counties would be limited to a maximum property tax revenue increase of 5% per year or the rate of inflation, whichever is greater.

51ºÚÁÏ County and city are not affected by the law.

Other taxing districts that rely on property taxes, such as fire, ambulance or library districts, would be affected.

O’Fallon Fire Protection District Chief Thomas Vineyard said real estate property taxes make up 85% of his fire district’s revenue.

“It would have a significant impact,� Vineyard said.

Meramec Valley R-III School District lies mostly in Franklin County, with small portions in 51ºÚÁÏ and Jefferson counties. Schwierjohn said about 60% of Meramec Valley’s funding comes from local sources. About 76% of that comes from real estate taxes.

“We wouldn’t be able to provide any increase in salaries and benefits to our staff,� Schwierjohn said. “I’m not sure we would be able to continue providing the services we provide today.�

Missouri in the nation in the percentage of funding public schools receive from the state. Property tax revenues make up nearly half — 47% — of total public school revenues in the state, according to the .

Ft. Zumwalt Superintendent Henry St. Pierre in a July estimated a tax freeze would cost the district $2.5 million in revenue by the 2026-2027 school year. That could grow to more than $7.5 million within five years, he wrote.

At the same time, the cost of operations continue to rise and school districts are facing increased pressure to raise wages, all while federal funding is cut and Missouri’s school funding formula is overhauled, creating uncertainty for future state funding.

“Unfortunately, sustaining these cuts, coupled with rising costs for operations or other expenses that happen on an annual basis, we fear we would have to start reducing services,� St. Pierre said during a recent school board meeting.

The constitutionality of the law already is being challenged in court.

Two senators and an activist argued in a lawsuit filed in July that the bill violated the Missouri Constitution in five ways, including a requirement that bills contain no more than one subject.

The Show-Me Institute think tank in June that the bill also may violate a uniform taxation requirement in Missouri’s Constitution, citing Meramec Valley school district as an example.

St. Charles County leaders to be an “unfunded mandate� barred under the state’s Hancock amendment because it requires counties to put the tax freeze question on ballots by April. The county assessor’s office estimated the ballot measure would cost the county $150,000.

“The dire implication I see is, there is no vehicle for political subdivisions to get necessary revenue� if taxes are frozen, Michelle McBride, St. Charles County Collector of Revenue, said in in a recent newsletter. “Public services could suffer, such as ambulance districts, fire districts and schools.�