Kirkwood R‑VII board approves 2024 tax rate and hears warnings about rising insurance claims

The Kirkwood R‑VII Board of Education on Sept. 23 approved a resolution to set the district’s operating tax rate ceiling at the State Auditor’s approved level and then approved the 2024 tax rate itself.

The vote followed staff presentations on district finances. District staff reported August revenues of about $1.7 million — roughly $830,000 in property tax revenue, $448,000 in state revenue and $167,000 in federal revenue — and operating expenditures of approximately $4.7 million. In the debt service fund staff reported $818,000 in interest payments on property bonds. Staff also said medical claims in the district’s self‑funded insurance account were unusually high in August, totaling about $1.4 million, which caused expenditures to exceed premiums by just over $1 million and reduced the insurance fund balance to roughly $728,000.

The district told the board it has already built a 10% premium increase into the budget effective in January and that leaders will continue to monitor claims and consider additional steps if the trend continues. The financial statements for August 2024 were approved by motion.

On the tax rate, staff explained the resolution would “undo the voluntary rollback from 2017,” effectively setting the operating tax rate ceiling at the auditor‑approved level; the presentation noted a 13.91% figure in that context. Staff also told trustees the district’s temporary property levy (referred to in the meeting as the levy that ‘sunsets’) will roll back to zero this year unless the board elects to place a replacement measure on an upcoming ballot. The board heard that a spring ballot (April) remains an option, with the administrative deadline to place an item on that ballot roughly 75 days before the election (January, per staff’s description).

Trustee Miss Heurn pressed for clarity on timing and options, saying she wanted “to be clear … we will still have the opportunity to discuss extending [the levy] in April,” and staff confirmed the board could put a new levy question on the April ballot if it chose to do so and met the county deadline. Trustees expressed willingness to continue that discussion in a future board meeting.

Both the tax‑rate resolution and the 2024 tax rate were adopted by voice votes recorded in the meeting; the transcript records motions and that each “passes” but does not include a roll‑call tally of yes/no votes.

The board closed the business session by approving the financial statements and the tax items and later moved to return to closed session.

What’s next: District staff will continue monitoring medical‑claim trends and implementing the budgeted premium increase; if trustees decide to seek a replacement property levy, staff said the board would need to take action by the administrative deadline in January to place the measure on an April ballot.