By AP/KWMU
Jefferson City, MO – A school administrators' lobby group in Missouri wants to know whether budget cuts at the state level have meant higher property taxes at the local level.
The group has sent questionnaires to all of the state's 524 school districts to ask if they have increased the property tax levy, or plan to during this school year.
Responses so far show 44 school districts have said cuts in funding from the state is forcing them to seek more money from the property tax. And 27 school districts which had voluntarily reduced property tax levies below voter-authorized maximums say they're now increasing their levies, without having to put the issue before voters.
Brent Ghan of the Missouri School Board Association says it seemed that there were a significant number of local levy issues on the ballot earlier this month.