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St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Lee Enterprises

Tuesday, August 18, 2009 10:01 PM CDT
Charleston school board may call for sales tax referendum

By DAVE FOPAY, Staff Writer
dfopay@jg-tc.com

CHARLESTON — The Charleston school board is set to add its support to a referendum calling for an additional county sales tax that would fund school operations and maintenance.

At its meeting tonight, the board is scheduled to vote to request that the Coles County Board approve a referendum on the tax for the Feb. 2 primary election.

The board also will hear a report on a mold problem at Carl Sandburg Elementary School that Superintendent Jim Littleford said was addressed over the summer, and to get its first look at the district’s 2009-10 budget.

Though the county is obligated to allow the sales tax referendum because the Mattoon school district already made the request, Littleford said the chances of the issue passing are better if all school districts in the county support it.

“We want to show unity in our county,” Littleford said.

The Illinois County School Facility Tax allows up to a 1-percent sales tax on most retail purchase in a county to go to school districts in that county, distributed based on each district’s enrollment. The money could go to construction, maintenance and similar needs but not for salaries or equipment.

When the Charleston board heard a presentation on the tax at its July meeting, Littleford and board members emphasized that part of the sales tax revenue would go to reduce the district’s property tax levy.

The Mattoon school board’s vote last week meant the county board has to allow the referendum because that’s required when districts making up at least 51 percent of a county’s enrollment make the request; Mattoon has about 52 percent of the county’s student enrollment.

The Oakland school board is also scheduled to vote on the referendum at its meeting tonight.

Meanwhile, Littleford said the district spent about $11,000 over the summer on work on the roof and drainage at Carl Sandburg to eliminate a moisture problem.

During the summer break, a school staff member and a visitor complained about feeling ill while at the school, prompting the investigation, he said.

Littleford said the district also hired Environmental Consultants of Collinsville to check the conditions at the school. There was a problem in one room but overall there were no problems with the air quality, he explained, but the company is still going to provide the district with an indoor air quality program.

The board is also scheduled to vote on the district’s tentative budget for the year. By law, the board has to have a public hearing on the budget and a final vote later, and both of those are scheduled for the board’s Sept. 16 meeting.

Contact Dave Fopay at dfopay@jg-tc.com or 238-6858.

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Chad(USAF) wrote on Aug 19, 2009 10:56 PM:

" **We want to show unity in our county, Littleford said.**

The people want to show unity in the county too, Mr. Littleford. I think we can safely say you can take your tax increase and stow it.

Why don't you do more with less like the rest of us have to do? "

blondie2 wrote on Aug 21, 2009 10:54 AM:

" So either you are not a home owner or you are not smart enough to see the savings. Another thing, last I heard the state payments were behind over 1 million dollars...how much does the state owe you Chad? "

Chad(USAF) wrote on Aug 22, 2009 1:41 AM:

" If you think this is going to save you money you are delusional. In your rush to ask whether I pay property taxes or not you missed the main point. Why should we have to have ANY tax increase in the first place?

However, I did some (admittedly not grad-level) research on the topic. In the two articles I looked at sales tax generated more revenue than property tax by roughly 2:1. You may save that money on your taxes every year, but you are going to spend it anyway on higher sales taxes if you shop here at all. Just using common sense, this would seem to be a wash for those that own a home (or they come out behind too) but really stick it to those that do not.

I'll admit my first reaction to the words tax increase are defensive so I'm willing to be convinced. Enlighten me on how this referendum is good and why I should consider voting for it, Blondie.

Just a suggestion, but perhaps an intelligent, logical retort would work better than the usual name-calling that occurs on these boards. "