BY Roxie Murphy

Assistant Editor

rmurphy@wardpub.com

A slew of misinformation regarding the 2024 No Tax Increase (NTI) Bond Issue prompted a “Question and Answer” series with Gasconade County R-2 Superintendent Dr. Jeri Kay Hardy. Although data was previously printed in The Gasconade County Republican during the failed 2023 NTI bond request, the renewed bond initiative has prompted a request for updated information.

Q: Has enrollment at the Gasconade County R-2 School District decreased in the 2023-24 school Year?

“Our enrollment is up at 1,840 students as of September 2023,” Hardy said. “(The enrollment numbers previously discussed) refer to our average daily attendance, which is 1,577 as of October 2023.”

Q: What is the district’s debt service levy (capital improvement account for bricks and mortar) that funds bonds and what is its operating levy that is used for educational supplies and teachers’ salaries?

“The district’s operating levy is $3.18 per $100 of assessed valuation and its debt service is at 67 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The district receives $3.85 per $100 of assessed valuation total.

“In 2006, the debt service levy was 87 cents and voters approved a 20-cent transfer from debt service to the general operating fund to increase salaries. The debt service levy has been the same for about 19 years.”

The district’s total debt service and operating funds combined total $3.85 — still below the average national operating fund only of $3.67.

Q: What is the purpose of the Owensville High School building addition?

“First, if we are building a new (facility), we are required to follow FEMA standards to have a storm-safe building in case of a natural disaster. The addition would house an expanded career tech education classroom, band and choir will no longer have to share classrooms, the auditorium/FEMA safe room as well as offices that will likely include a school resource officer HUB,” Hardy said. “That opens space in the man building to move the weight room from the Ag building into the current band room to be next to the big gym. It also frees the small gym from housing drama, cheer leading, wrestling, basketball, and other sports, allowing youth sports to utilize the facilities.”

Q: What would you say to allegations from John Grady, a reporter for the Hermann Advertiser Courier, who claims the information on the NTI bond and financials are unavailable to the public?

“If the community has a question, call and ask,” Hardy said. “If they are looking at financials, our books are open. Our line items and financial information are public records. You don’t have to Sunshine Law that, it is on our Board Docs and all information is available online. I have never had a phone call from Mr. Grady requesting information. He somehow provided ‘insights by me’ (according to an article in the Advertiser Courier)  but never talked to me.”

Hardy also provided an updated NTI bond issue project list by cost and line item available below.

Q: What happens if the $16.5 million bond issue fails to pass?

“(In a few years) once it’s paid off, that 67 cents per $100 of assessed valuation goes away,” Hardy said. “Then in two years when we need a bond, we go back to the voters. At that point, it is going to be a tax rate increase. If we need anything done with our buildings or improvements made we would have to go back for a tax rate increase because there wouldn’t be a debt service. Voters would have to vote for a tax increase to fund the debt service levy at that point.”

Q: Have you ever heard of a district who has let the tax levy lapse and voted later to reinstate it?

“I have never hard of a district that lapsed in renewing its debt service levy get it back,” Hardy said.

Q: Is Gasconade R-2 School District maxing out its bonding capability?

“Our current bond debt is at $6,170,000 total. We are asking for an additional $16.5 million, up $1.5 million since last year (due to inflation). These are the same projects we presented last year,” Hardy said. “We are not maxing out our bond capacity. What we could bond in addition to what we have right now — according to the state auditor, they said we could bond another $27 million. We don’t want to do that because we do not need that.”

Q: How much is the interest on the NTI bond?

“When (Stifel) does the prediction in October, we don’t know interest for sure until they sell the bonds,” Hardy said. “So they cushion the bond request with a heftier amount on the repayment plan until it is time to sell the bond. That is standard operating procedure. They hope for a lower rate but cushion at a higher rate to make sure districts have enough to pay it back.”

According to treasurydirect.gov, 5.27 percent from November 2023 to April 2024 is the average bond interest rate. That does not mean that will be the rate.

Q: What are the issues with the Owensville Middle School gym floor?

“The gym floor is what is considered a dead floor,” Hardy said. “You can bounce a ball every three feet and it does not come back up. Therefore, we can’t use this gym for games. Also, the bleachers in the middle school gym are no longer functional. This does not allow for us to have any middle school ballgames in the middle school gym.”

Between the floor, which makes the gym unusable for games, the broken set of bleachers that eliminates seating, and the deafening noise from the ceiling HVAC system, the gym has been rendered mostly unusable. Due to the unusable features in the facility, events for middle school take place at the Owensville Elementary School.

Q: An outside group with leaders from Clever, Mo., on Jan. 30 referenced a $5.5 million voter-approved bond from 2015 that they alleged grew to a $10 million bill. Can you explain what led to the increase in the 2015 bond?

“They are referencing a combination of the 2015 bond ($5.5 million) and refinancing of prior bonds,” Hardy said. “The crossover funds from 2012 was added into the 2015 bond, similar to refinancing a house to make home improvements, (to save on having separate interest applied to both balances) but the payment remained the same.”

Q: An outside group alleged that the district had another bond in 2017. Would the district clarify this information?

“There was no bond in 2017, the last bond ran in 2015,” Hardy said. “She was talking about a refinance for a lower interest rate to save the school district over $2 million,” Hardy said.

Q: The same outside group suggested the Gasconade County R-2 School District use the remainder of its debt service levy fund (currently used for daily maintenance purposes) as well as its general fund (used to pay the district’s bills such as teachers’ salaries, classroom expenses, technology, and anything that has to do with educating students in daily operations) to complete projects. The state of Missouri requires the district to keep at least 25 percent of its expenses in a savings account. It also currently has remaining ESSER and ARPA funds that can only be spent on approved projects — the funds are not renewable. Should the district use the entirety of its current general fund and debt service fund to complete its facilities projects?

“The financial strain it would have on the district — we have money in reserves, but they want us to take all of our general fund money and capital reserves to pay for this project. Schools don’t operate that way,” Hardy said.

Hardy said the information that the outside group is sharing is inaccurate and should be investigated, reiterating that citizens are welcome to contact the Administration Building to speak with her.

“Reviewing where the information comes from, I don’t believe this group has demonstrated that they are knowledgeable and I don’t know why they are here,” Hardy said. “Look at their website to see the causes they support.”

The school district is holding its own informational meetings for the public to attend and ask questions about the no-tax-increase bond issue on the following days:

• Chili Supper from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 9, at Owensville High School.

• Community Forum at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 13, at OES during PAT meeting.

• OMS meeting at the OES library at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 22, during the volleyball game.

School Board candidates Kari Nolting, Keith Glaser, and James Hackstedt attended the Jan. 30 meeting as well as other district informational meetings about the bond.

“I intended to go to the meeting to learn more about the bond issue at hand, the good it was going to do for our district, and how it is going to be financed,” Nolting said about the Jan. 30 meeting. “What I was receiving was an inaccurate picture of the history of our debt service fund which is when I spoke up to ask questions and get clarification.”

Glaser said the Jan. 30 meeting by the outside source and the Gasconade County R-2 sponsored meeting on Feb. 5 about the bond issue were two different sides of the coin.

“The meeting was informative to me on how it affects people’s taxes,” Glaser said. “I encourage people to also attend a meeting that the school district is giving and not just listen to one side.”

Hackstedt said felt said he welcomes more information before making any definitive declarations about the no-tax-increase bond issue.

“What I have learned to date is I am looking for more information regarding the $16.5 million bond issue request,” Hackstedt said.