Jefferson R-7 School District officials have put the brakes on a plan to place a $7.5 million bond issue on the April ballot following the recent announcement that Ameren Missouri’s Rush Island Energy Center in southern Jefferson County may close in 2024.
The district’s Board of Education had planned for several months to put the bond issue on the ballot, but after the Ameren announcement was made, the board voted 6-0 Jan. 19 to table the bond issue indefinitely. Board member Mike Frisk was absent from the meeting.
The Rush Island plant, built in 1976, makes up 17 percent of the district’s assessed valuation and the taxes collected from it supply about $1.65 million of the school’s annual $14 million budget. The prospect of losing such a significant portion of its revenue drove the board to take another look at the bond issue, and they decided that because of the district’s uncertain financial future, it seems too risky to take on more debt at this time.
Board president Karen Koenig said she is sorry the district will have to wait to make the improvements the bond issue could have funded.
“Every single thing on that list would impact safety in one way or another,” Koenig said. “It breaks my heart, having to pull back on this project.
“But it would be irresponsible to do this when we know so little about what (the possible plant closure) is going to mean for us. A wish list is great, but you can’t jeopardize your future.”
Ameren Missouri announced in December it may accelerate plans to close the Rush Island facility, which employs about 150 people, after a U.S. Eastern District judge found the plant in violation of the federal Clean Air Act and ordered the company to install pollution controls.
Initially, Ameren said the company would install “scrubbers,” pollution control devices that would allow the plant to operate into 2039.
In December, though, the company said that taking Rush Island offline 15 years earlier than planned would be more beneficial to the environment than installing the scrubbers, which were estimated to cost up to $1 billion.
A more precise date for the closure wasn’t given, but the company said an analysis of how to retire the plant should be complete in January.
“Every department of the county government will take a budget hit because of this (plant closure),” Koenig said. “It represents a $35 million revenue loss for the whole county, but we would be hit the hardest.”
Too much risk
Plans for the now defunct bond issue called for $3.6 million to go toward installing a traffic light at the intersection of Hwy. 61 and Dooling Hollow Road (which leads to the main campus south of Festus), as well as developing two additional entrances to the campus complex to relieve traffic congestion.
“It’s unfortunate that we have to wait,” Superintendent Clint Johnston said. “Safety continues to be an issue every day with students and staff coming to and from school.”
Other improvements that could have been funded with the bond issue included relocating a softball field from its current home at the R-7 Little League complex in Selma Village to the school campus; replacing roofs and improving sewers at Plattin Primary; expanding the cafeteria at Jefferson High School; replacing HVAC systems at all four district buildings; adding a concession stand at the district football stadium; replacing and repairing asphalt at Danby-Rush Tower Middle School; and updating door keys at all buildings.
Koenig said a pared-down version of the bond issue was discussed and rejected.
“None of us are really confident enough yet to do even that,” she said. “It seems safer and smarter to wait and see what happens.”
The district’s current tax levy is $4.5967 per $100 assessed valuation. While the bond issue would not have required a tax increase, it would have extended the district’s bond debt.
Koenig said the consensus among board members is to exercise caution.
“We’re going to have to look at each issue individually to try and see if there’s a way, in our current budget, to make any of them happen,” she said. “We will know a lot more by August, but we still may not be able to determine whether we can go ahead with any of it. Essentially, it’s a waiting game. There is so much we just don’t know.
“We’re not taking this lightly. We’re pursuing all routes we can. The taxpayers in this district have been so good to us, and I think if we are honest with them, they will continue to support us. We want people to understand what is going on, and to see how hard we are trying to be careful with every one of their tax dollars.”