The Kansas City Star’s endorsement in the Lee’s Summit tax rollback Prop C | Opinion
On the April 7 ballot in Lee’s Summit is a property tax rollback proposal known as Proposition C, a statewide 1% sales tax approved in 1982 to support Missouri school districts. Under Prop C, school districts are required to reduce or rollback their local tax levy unless voters approve a proposition waiving the mandate.
On Tuesday, voters in Lee’s Summit will be asked to approve a full waiver of the rollback to recoup between $3.2 million and $4.5 million the district said it loses annually because of a partial waiver approved in 2008.
A full waiver would generate additional operating revenue each year, district officials said, that would be used to increase salaries and benefits for teachers and staff beginning next school year. But the waiver would come at a slight cost to homeowners.
According to district calculations, a home valued at $100,000 this year would see a yearly tax increase of about $23.90, or just $2 more per month. A home valued at $500,000 would cost homeowners about $119.50 per year, or about an additional $10 per month.
While we understand concerns some voters may have about higher tax obligations each year, we strongly recommend a yes vote for Prop C in Lee’s Summit.
According to a 2024 community survey conducted in Lee’s Summit by Creative Entourage, nearly 87% of respondents identified competitive pay and benefits for school district staff and teachers as a high priority.
As it stands, Lee’s Summit’s base salary ($44,180) for starting teachers this school year ranked 13th out of 22 Kansas City-area school districts. The previous school year, the district ranked ninth in starting pay. If approved, Prop C would allow district officials to address the disparity in pay and other employee benefits.
Lee’s Summit voters have a history of supporting measures to improve the city’s public schools. Teachers and staff pay shouldn’t be any different. Just last year, more than 79% of district voters approved a $225 million bond issue for capital improvements, deferred maintenance and other facility upgrades to aging buildings.
Five years before that, 82.2% approved a $224 million bond to build a new middle school — the district’s fourth — renovate Lee’s Summit High School and build a second early education center, among other facility upgrades.
On Tuesday, we recommend voters say yes to a full waiver of the district’s Prop C tax levy rollback.