By AP/KWMU
Jefferson City, MO – The Missouri Supreme Court heard arguments Thursday over whether school districts can set certain property tax rates without voter approval.
The case involves a district in central Missouri, but the case could affect a hundred others.
A 1998 amendment to Missouri's state Constitution sets a ceiling; a tax levy rate districts can impose without a public vote (that rate is $2.75 for every $100 of assessed valuation).
But the lawsuit says that amendment could conflict with the 1980 Hancock Amendment, which requires a public vote if districts want to raise their rate by more than the rate of inflation.
Residents of the Morgan County R-2 School District brought the challenge. They say the 1998 amendment shouldn't take precedence over the Hancock amendment's limits.