District finance presenter warns Senate Bill 3 would cut projected local revenue and shrink reserves
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Summary
A district finance presenter told the Ozark R‑VI board that Senate Bill 3 could reduce projected local property tax revenue by roughly $10.1 million over a three‑year span and drive operating reserves from about 26% toward single digits unless the district alters staffing or spending plans.
A district finance presenter told the Ozark R‑VI School Board that Senate Bill 3 would substantially reduce the district’s projected local property tax revenue and put pressure on operating reserves.
At a public meeting, the presenter said the district’s 2024 assessed valuation was “just under 700,000,000” with about “a little over $454,000,000” in residential property, and showed side‑by‑side projections that, with SB 3 in place, affected revenue would be “just under $30,900,000” versus roughly $36,600,000 in a scenario where SB 3 was not enacted. The presenter described the difference as “about $10,100,000” over a three‑year period and emphasized that this is a loss of projected revenue rather than an immediate cash shortfall.
The presenter also warned that the district’s operating reserve, expressed as a percentage of annual expenditures, could fall from the current 26% to about 20.86% in the first year under the SB 3 projection and decline further in later years — moving toward low single digits and even negative in extended projections if personnel and benefits costs continue unchanged. “When 83% of our budget is people, this type of revenue loss will directly follow … and make it extremely difficult … to remain competitive with those same districts on staff salaries and benefits,” the presenter said.
Board members pressed for the assumptions behind the model. The presenter said growth assumptions used in the spreadsheets include roughly 3.5% assessed‑valuation growth in non‑reassessment years and about 6% in reassessment years (an average taken from roughly 20 years of prior data), and noted that the model includes debt service obligations that must be paid regardless of operating revenue changes.
The presenter cited an update from DESE finance staff reporting a statewide foundation‑formula shortfall for the current fiscal year of about $139,000,000 and said that reduced state funding lowers the district’s state adequacy target (the presenter referenced a current figure around 6,964 per the state advocacy target versus an earlier expectation of 7,135). When asked whether any districts could see net gains under SB 3, the presenter said districts in 0% counties (like Christian County, which was mentioned) generally do not see beneficial effects and that districts would eventually return to prior revenue levels only over time as valuations grow.
The presenter noted some one‑time revenue items — for example, a $2,200,000 energy credit received this year — that inflate current totals and warned the board not to treat those as recurring revenue when planning.
What’s next: the presenter finished by offering the spreadsheet for board review and invited questions; no formal vote or action on budget changes was taken at the meeting.
