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Waynesville board sets FY26 tax levy after Hancock Amendment rollback
Summary
School board approved a $2.8747 per $100 assessed valuation levy for FY26 after administrators said a jump in assessed valuation and Missouri's Hancock Amendment forced a rollback from the voter-approved $3.05 rate.
The Waynesville R-VI School District board voted to set the fiscal year 2026 property tax levy at $2.8747 per $100 of assessed valuation, administration announced and the board approved by voice vote. The district had a voter-approved levy of $3.05 but administrators said state law required a rollback.
Mister Harrison, staff member, told the board the district's assessed valuation rose sharply from about $376 million to a little more than $423 million, a roughly $46 million increase driven primarily by a 13.11% jump in real estate values. "That does have impacts," Harrison said, noting the Hancock Amendment and the Missouri Tax Commission's consumer price index calculation limited the amount of revenue the district may raise without triggering a rollback.
The Hancock Amendment, as described by Harrison, ties allowable revenue increases to the Missouri Tax Commission's CPI figure; the commission set the CPI at 2.9% for the year discussed. Harrison told the board that because the assessed valuation change would otherwise produce revenue above that CPI cap, the district was "forced to roll our tax levy back ... to $2.8747." He said projected revenue at that levy is about $12.1 million for FY26.
Harrison also stressed the district's interest in maintaining B2 eligibility for impact aid funding and said the voter-approved 10-cent increase passed in February 2024 was important to preserving that status. "Had we not passed that 10¢ tax increase back in 02/2024, we would be in a much worse position than we are now," Harrison said, adding that B2 eligibility calculations use three years of prior data and that the change will affect calculations through the 2029 school year.
The motion to approve the FY26 levy of $2.8747 per $100 of assessed valuation was made by Mister Anderson and seconded by Mister Keeling; the board approved the motion by a voice/show-of-hands vote. The board did not call roll for individual recorded votes.
Why it matters: The levy determines local revenue for the district and can affect eligibility for federal impact-aid (B2) funding, officials said. Administrators flagged the large one-year increase in assessed values as "unprecedented" in recent records and emphasized the district's relatively low local tax rate compared with other districts in Missouri, noting 92% of districts have higher rates, per Harrison.
Details and next steps: Administration said it will bring the tax rate as an action item during the meeting (which it did) and will continue to monitor B2 eligibility calculations and special factors that might preserve the district's funding position. No additional financial actions tied to the levy were approved at the time of the vote.
