Pattonville Tax Increase? School Board To Host Forum Tuesday, Discuss Possibility

Pattonville is hurting for funds.

On Tuesday, Aug. 6, the district will present its case for a tax levy increase to be placed on a ballot this fall, according to a news release. The event begins at 7 p.m. in the Pattonville High School gym. 

Administrators will share information on Pattonville’s academic performance and its financial challenges in the operating side of the budget during the forum, according to the news release. According to its State of the District report, the Pattonville Board of Education approved an $86.6 million expenditure budget that includes a $1.6 million deficit in the operating budget.

That deficit is in spite of the district's closing Briar Crest Elementary, an administrator salary freeze, by 40 percent, trimming textbook expenses by a little more than half a million dollars, eliminating nine staff positions, and other measures, according to its State of the District report. Since 2007, Pattonville has cut $8.1 million in its operating budget.

“I encourage our parents and community members to attend this important event,” Superintendent Mike Fulton said in the news release. “Their voices are needed as we make decisions that will help ensure the quality of our district is protected long-term.”

Anyone planning to attend should RSVP with their school principal or by contacting Kelly Gordon at (314) 213-8025 or kgordon@psdr3.org, according to the release. The forum is scheduled to last from 7 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 6, in the Pattonville high school gym at 2497 Creve Coeur Mill Road.