Corrections in italics.
There appears to high levels of confusion over whether or not the 1998 Proposition C rollback waiver (actually known as Proposition T) was or was not an increase of tax revenue received by the Mehlville School District.
It should be very clear that Mehlville received an estimated 35 (changed from 33) cents more a year (3.3 Million annually) for operations than before voters approved the passage of Proposition T in 1997-1998. My friends Bill and Sherry, owners of a $100,000 home at the time, now pay an additional $62.70 per year in taxes to the school district.
Let me explain.
Before 1998, Bill and Sherry paid a one-cent sales tax on all taxable purchases. That one-cent was directed to the state for the funding of education state-wide and was put into place in 1982. With that one-cent sales tax, the state then returned to every district $770 per attending student.
In return, Mehlville was required to “reduce its property tax rate (collected) by an amount equivalent to one-half of the revenue (Mehlville) received from this (one-cent) sales tax from the State of Missouri.
Then, Missouri told all the school districts in the state that if you hold a waiver election, voters of local school districts could decide to forego some or all of that property tax rollback required by Proposition C.
In 1998, Bill and Sherry were given the choice:
1. Waive the rollback and pay $62.70 more a year in taxes. ($62.70 a year per $100,000 in assessed home value 
in effect giving Mehlville an increase of $3.3 million a year for operations annually. (35 cents) changed from 33.
2. Or not. Mehlville would not receive a tax increase for operations.
The waiver election was called Proposition T; Bill and Sherry’s chance to waive the rollback.
The elimination of the rollback was approved by Mehlville voters in 1998. Therefore, and for your review:
Approval of the elimination of the sales tax rollback increased the district’s tax rate by 35 cents (up from 33 cents) to $3.60 (changed from $3.58)from $3.25 per $100 of assessed valuation. The owner of a $100,000 home now will pay an additional $62.70 per year in taxes to the school district.
This resulted in $3.3 million more for the Mehlville School District to use for operations.
DESE (Department of Elementary and Secondary Education) counts this money as local money; not state money, and is applied to our 80% local education funding. Mehlville receives about 15% of its revenue from the state.
Therefore, it has not been 20 years since Mehlville received an operation tax levy; it has been a little less than eight.
Bottom line: I agree that Mehlville needs more money to educate our children to the standards mandated by the state and the federal government. I also believe there are some areas we can cut if necessary. Even if we eliminate that spending, Mehlville still needs revenue enhancement in some way, shape or form to assist in meeting those education standards.
To accomplish this, we need to make honest arguments. While you would like to think that the “ends justify the means,” the ends will never be achieved any other way.
Official description from DESE:
“Proposition C” is the state’s one-cent sales tax, dedicated to education, that was approved by Missouri voters in 1982. Every school district receives a flat amount of Proposition C revenue for each student – about $770 per student this year. However, each district is required to reduce its property tax rate by an amount equivalent to one-half of the revenue received from this sales tax.
Through a waiver election, school districts may ask patrons to forego some or all of the property tax rollback required by Proposition C. If voters approve the waiver, the effect is the same as an increase in the operating tax rate. Voters in more than 450 districts have approved full or partial waivers.
