Schools

Brentwood School Tax Rate Increase Among Highest

Brentwood, Ladue and Bayless school districts have seen the steepest increases.

As the Brentwood Board of Education has asked a special commision to take a close look at the district's finances, a Dec. 19 article in the St. Louis Post Dispatch points out the school district tax rate has increased 44 percent since 2007.

Among St. Louis County school districts, the three highest tax rate increases on a percentage basis were in Bayless, Ladue and Brentwood.

Voters in Bayless approved a 28 percent tax rate increase, while Ladue voters approved a tax rate hike of 17 percent.

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In Brentwood, the School Board acted on its own to raise the district’s rate by almost 10 percent, to $3.95 per $100 of assessed valuation.

Brentwood’s tax rate has jumped by 44 percent since 2007, when the district’s rate was $2.74. That same period saw a steady rise in staff and administration salaries, which account for about 80 percent of a typical district’s budget.

Find out what's happening in Maplewood-Brentwoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“We have to ask for enough in our operating levy to pay for expenses,” said Brentwood Superintendent Dave Faulkner.

Read the complete article, about property taxes across the St. Louis region, in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

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