The Webster Groves School District Board of Education on the evening of the tax rate hearing approved the district's 2025 property tax levies after a public informational presentation and brief public comment.

Jacob Myers, the district's presenter, told the board the county's assessments showed about 15% growth in residential values and about 10.36% growth in commercial values while personal property values decreased roughly 2.5%. He said the Hancock Amendment's growth cap limited the district's ability to collect all of that new assessed valuation as revenue.

Myers explained the district used the state auditor's worksheet to compute a tax-rate ceiling and shared calculations with bond counsel and the auditor for review. He said roughly 65% of the district's general revenue comes from property taxes, funding salaries, benefits, transportation and contracted services.

Board action: A board member moved to set the 2025 operating levy at a maximum blended operating rate of 3.03905 per $100 of assessed valuation (allocated: incidental fund 1.689; teachers fund 1.611; capital projects 0.0905) and to set the 2025 debt service levy at 0.5699, for a combined blended maximum of 3.9604. The motion specified categorical rates as follows: residential 3.0848; commercial 3.7039; personal property 5.4389 (with the 0.5699 debt service added to each category). The motion carried on a voice vote.

Why it matters: Property taxes are the district's largest revenue source and the Hancock Amendment (state constitutional limits on growth of revenue from existing property) limited how much the district could capture from sharp jumps in assessed valuation. Myers noted that because the district's operating rate remains above the $2.75 threshold in Saint Louis County, the Hancock Amendment continues to constrain revenue growth for existing property; new construction is not subject to the same limit.

Supporting details: Myers said new construction in Webster Groves this assessment cycle totaled about $1.9 million in residential and $384,000 in commercial new construction, far less than neighboring Kirkwood's $14.5 million in new construction; the difference affects districts' ability to capture revenue. The district's recommended residential rate was reported as lower than last year in the presentation, and Myers displayed comparative charts of neighboring districts to show how multi-rate assessment in Saint Louis County and Hancock limitations make direct rate comparisons misleading.

Legislative context: Myers flagged pending and recent state actions that could affect district tax calculations, including Senate Bill 190 (senior credit/0% growth treatment) and Senate Bill 3 (county-level tax-increase caps), and said the district was waiting on Saint Louis County for details about how SB 190's senior property tax credit would be administered and how much the credit might cost the district.

Public comment and procedure: The district held the statutorily required tax rate hearing as an informational item before taking the formal vote in the regular meeting. Myers said the full hearing presentation and materials are posted on the district's Assembly site. The motion to adopt the levies occurred later in the meeting and passed on voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded in the meeting transcript.

What's next: The district will submit the adopted rates to Saint Louis County for inclusion on tax bills, and the county will forward certification materials to the state auditor's office.