Parents urge SLPS Real Estate Committee to put schools at center of city tax-incentive decisions

St. Louis Public Schools officials and parent advocates on the district’s Real Estate Committee heard a presentation Friday from the Parent Action Council’s Housing and Incentives Committee urging the district to assert greater oversight of city tax-incentive decisions that reduce school property tax revenue.

Molly Metzger, a parent at Mann Elementary School and co-chair of the Parent Action Council’s Housing and Incentives Committee, told the committee “we have 20% of our kids unhoused or insecurely housed in all kinds of conditions” and argued that tax abatements and tax increment financing (TIF) decisions divert revenue the district depends on.

The presentation, delivered by Metzger and Sean Reagan Bogan, a parent and co-chair of the committee, cited St. Louis Public Schools’ Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) data showing the district forewent about $168 million in property taxes between 2017 and 2022 and an additional roughly $34.1 million in 2023, which the presenters summarized as “exceed[ing] $200,000,000.” They said the city assessor does not always update market values for abated properties and suggested the true revenue loss could be higher.

Why it matters: District officials rely on property taxes for a majority of local revenue. Metzger noted that “about 62% under the current tax levies go to SLPS,” and the presenters framed stricter review of incentives as a way to protect school funding while still allowing responsible development to proceed.

Key concerns and recommendations from the Parent Action Council included:

- Earlier notice and more time to review: Request that the St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC) supply incentive proposals to SLPS with at least five to seven business days of lead time so the district can meaningfully review complex financing packages before recommendations are finalized.

- Full accounting of incentives: Ask that SLDC disclose all incentives and financing sources tied to a development so the committee can evaluate whether real estate tax relief is necessary or whether alternatives (historic tax credits, low-income housing tax credits, other financing) might substitute.

- Affordability standards tied to family housing: Prioritize abatements for projects that produce family-sized units (two bedrooms or larger) and deeper affordability. Metzger said conventional affordability metrics often miss the district’s needs: “When we talk about affordable housing … affordable for whom?” She urged prioritizing units affordable to extremely low-income households (about 30% of area median income) rather than higher thresholds that leave SLPS families unaffordable.

- Community benefits agreements (CBAs) when projects are luxury or non-family housing: If a project will not create deeply affordable family housing, the committee recommended that any real estate tax relief be offset by a written, enforceable monetary CBA with payments directed to St. Louis Public Schools.

- Greater transparency and adherence to public-record rules: The presenters urged full public disclosure of proposals, votes and meeting materials under the Missouri Sunshine law, noting past corruption scandals involving aldermen and incentives and arguing that transparency protects the district and public.

During discussion, committee members confirmed that SLPS now has statutory notification rights for projects seeking incentives over $1 million and noted representation on the TIF Commission; presenters said compliance with notification has been uneven and that only one of the last 11 bills met notification requirements. Metzger and Bogan offered to provide a parent liaison to the Real Estate Committee to improve early engagement and public outreach.

Committee business: The Real Estate Committee approved minutes from its Feb. 24, 2025 meeting and later voted to enter a closed session. The meeting record shows members answering roll-call questions during both votes; recorded affirmatives on the closed-session motion included Shamika Henry, Kimberly Johnson Miller, Dr. Borishadeh, “Mister Hikes,” Donna Jones and Emily Hubbard. The minutes-approval motion was recorded as approved with several members voting yes and others recorded as abstaining.

What’s next: The Parent Action Council said it will continue outreach, make its materials available to the district and offered to send a liaison to future Real Estate Committee meetings. Committee members suggested working collaboratively on public messaging to help parents and community members understand incentive mechanics.

The presentation packet included a slide deck, references and an acronym list for SLDC, LCRA, TIF Commission and related agencies. The Parent Action Council asked the committee to: demand earlier notice from SLDC; require full disclosure of all public incentives applied to a project; prioritize family-sized, deeply affordable units; attach enforceable CBAs to projects that do not provide family housing; and ensure votes and deliberations are transparent and publicly documented under Sunshine law.