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Understanding the sides in the St. Joseph schools property tax levy battle
November 2, 2017
By Sam Zeff
Editor's note: This is the third in a multi-part series of stories that Ballotpedia is publishing regarding the St. Joseph School District and its property tax levy. Click here and here for the first two installments.
The fight over raising property taxes in Missouri’s St. Joseph School District has been brewing for three years.
Many residents have lost trust in a district rocked by scandal after scandal, so it’s not surprising that voters are divided.
The campaign has attracted tens of thousands of dollars from some of the most wealthy people and powerful companies in St. Joseph. The election has divided the city and pitted much of the conservative business community against a libertarian businessman and donor.
Proposition 1 would boost property taxes collected by the district by 38 percent. On a $100,000 house, that’s about $218 per year more. If voters approve it, an additional $11.5 million will flow into the district each year, starting in December 2018.
The campaign is being waged with scandals still fresh in the minds of voters. Ballotpedia has written about them all—secret stipends paid to administrators, a pension inflation scheme that sent a former superintendent to federal prison, the worst school district report ever written by the Missouri State Auditor, a $450,000 settlement with the district’s former CFO to settle a slander lawsuit—the list goes on.
The factions have split into two committees.
Those who support the levy increase are giving money to the Committee To Move St. Joseph Forward, and those who oppose it are giving money to Supporters of a Better SJSD. These two sides have taken different approaches to the campaign.
Who comprises the pro-levy Committee to Move St. Joseph Forward?
The pro-levy side is backed by the traditional business community in St. Joseph. Pat Dillion is one of the committee co-chairs; he is a vice president with Mosaic Life Care. Mosaic is a health care provider that serves as the largest employer in the area with almost 3,500 employees.
In addition to Dillion’s direct assistance with the campaign, Mosaic has contributed $20,000, according to Missouri Ethics Commission reports.
“I think to continue to not fund the district at the level we need to be a progressive district and make St. Joe attractive to businesses and families again, I think we’re just punishing our community and we’re punishing the students and the teachers,” Dillion says. Mosaic was in the campaign early, making its contribution on September 26.
Another large local company has made a five-figure contribution to support the levy increase. On October 24, Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, an international corporation that makes pharmaceuticals for pets and livestock, wrote a $20,000 check. The company is the fifth-largest employer in town with about 2,000 employees.
But it was a contribution from the St. Joseph News-Press that caught many by surprise. The paper made an in-kind contribution of $25,119 that was used for ads in the News-Press.
The paper’s parent company owns 10 newspapers and 12 TV stations, including two in St. Joseph. The company is controlled by the Bradley family, one of the wealthiest in St. Joseph.
Although they acknowledged past transgressions in the district, the paper was unequivocal in its support of the levy. Its editorial board wrote, “The ramifications of not addressing this funding need will be harmful to children. District patrons should expect more teachers to leave for better pay, bigger class sizes, possibly pay-to-play fees for athletics, and even the potential of closures of some schools – all of this simply to meet the immediate threat to the district’s financial stability.”
The Missouri chapter of the National Education Association (NEA) has contributed $1,000, and the PTA Council has contributed another $5,000. Even the St. Joseph NEA (SJNEA), which has had a difficult relationship with the district, is supporting the levy increase. It has “overwhelming support from members,” says SJNEA President Eric Simmons. Simmons says he is confident the mess has been cleaned up, but he added that “confidence can’t fall into complacency” and pledged to keep an eye on the district.
In all, the Committee To Move St. Joseph Forward reports total contributions of $128,029, which it has used to purchase ads on radio and television.
Who comprises the anti-levy Supporters of a Better SJSD?
Contrast that with the Supporters of a Better SJSD committee. In its final Missouri Ethics Commission filing before the election, the committee reported raising $40,478. Almost all of that came from one donor: contractor Stanley Herzog.
Last year, Herzog made $401,752 in political contributions, according to CampaignMoney.com. In 2016, he gave $100,000 to President Trump’s campaign. He also contributed $650,000 to Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, according to the Kansas City Star.
During this election, Herzog made four $10,000 contributions to the committee. Four other donors provided the remaining $478.
Former school board member Eric Bruder also opposes the levy. He said, “The Herzogs, especially Stan Herzog, is the biggest pro St. Joseph person on the planet. He helped fund the St. Joe Christian school because he was frustrated with what was going on with the public schools. He wants the school district to flourish. He wants it to go forward. But they want people to do things right and be accountable.”
Although the opposition has raised less money, it is also buying television and radio ads. By and large, however, the opposition has relied on local star power to make its argument. In addition to Bruder, another former school board member is out there campaigning against the levy.
“As it became closer to the election and as I started hearing the propaganda that was going out I could no longer be silent,” says Chris Danford. “Nobody wants to speak out against a school levy. Are you kidding? Because people do say, what a naysayer. You’re not community minded at all. You want this community to die. I heard those things.”
Danford helped blow the whistle on $270,000 in secret stipends paid to administrators three years ago. That revelation helped unearth many of the district’s other problems, including the pension inflation scheme that sent former superintendent and school board president Dan Colgan to federal prison. He is scheduled to be released on November 16.
Will the big money from the St. Joseph business community carry the levy over the finish line? Or will the opposition campaign led by two former school board members and Herzog stop the property tax levy increase in its tracks?
We do know this: everyone agrees that the election on Tuesday will be close.
Sam Zeff covers education for KCUR in Kansas City, Mo. He's won a National News Emmy for investigative reporting, four National Headliner Awards, and four Edward R. Murrow awards. Zeff has managed newsrooms in Minneapolis, St. Louis, and Kansas City. He was educated at the University of Kansas.
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