Rockwood Schools
Proposition P (Planning for the Future)
What it is: A shift of 54 cents from the district’s debt service levy, which is used to pay off bond issues, to its operating levy, over four years.
Vote needed to pass: Simple majority.
How much it will cost: Passage would not raise the district’s current tax levy. However, debt service levy taxes expire as bond debt is paid down, lowering the overall tax levy, unless residents vote to allow a district to shift those taxes to the operating levy, which is permanent, or unless another bond issue is approved to extend the debt. District officials projected that the current debt would be paid off in 2038, unless voters approve another bond issue.
Rockwood’s current tax rate is $4.1252 per $100 of assessed evaluation, including a 68-cent debt service levy and a $3.4452 general operations levy.
What it’s about: Paul Northington, Rockwood’s chief financial officer, said 54 cents of the debt service levy would be placed into the district’s cycle maintenance portion of the operating tax levy, and the money would be used to continually supply students with technology equipment, such as iPads, cover the cost for cybersecurity and data protection as well as fund maintenance projects such as security systems, roofing, flooring and HVAC.
The district’s website said the funding source would eliminate the need to borrow money and pay interest on scheduled upgrades and maintenance items, ultimately saving tax money.
Officials initially intended to ask voters to approve a tax shift starting in the 2025-2026 school year when the debt service levy was expected to be reduced from 68 cents to 41 cents, and then it planned to lower the debt service levy again in 2026-2027 from 41 cents to 14 cents, according to the district’s website.
However, Rockwood’s website says the district can move up that timeline because of improved economic conditions and recent refunding of existing debt.
Officials said after the shift is fully implemented in four years, the district anticipates having about $25 million a year for technology upgrades and maintenance projects.
“In the past couple of years, we’ve gone to the voters for a bond issue to fund not only special projects, but also some of our cycle maintenance needs,” Northington said. “This Proposition P will transition to where we’re going to take some pennies out of debt service, move them into the capital projects fund and have a dedicated funding source to where we don't have to come back to the community every few years for a bond issue to plan cycle maintenance.
“The fact that our property values have been better than expected, we’ve been able to refinance some of our debt and lower some of the borrowing costs, this has given us the opportunity to implement this earlier.”