The Moniteau School District school board voted 6-2 on Monday to preliminarily approve for a $24.5 million budget, which will increase taxes by 1.99 mills for property owners in the district.

According to district superintendent Aubrie Schnelle, inflation is the primary reason that the 2022-23 budget is up by $2 million compared to the 2021-22 budget.

Increased revenue, particularly an increase in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER), balances the proposed budget. Schnelle said the district’s federal funding, about $1.6 million, is mainly sourced from American Rescue Plan funds, which included about $1.3 million in total coming from the ESSER.

“The expense of absolutely everything is going up from paper to regular field costs,” Schnelle said.

The 1.99-mill increase will bring the millage rate in the Moniteau School District to 95.87.

Taxes will increase by $199 annually for a property valued at $100,000.

The school district receives about $14 million in revenue from state sources and about $7 million comes from local sources.

The budget estimates the district will receive about $5.4 million from current real estate taxes, which make up the majority of the estimated local revenue. The main source of state funding comes from the basic education funding formula, which makes up $8.5 million.

The biggest cost listed in the budget is $13.5 million for “regular programs,” including salaries, employee benefits and supplies.

Schnelle said the district has no plans to begin any capital projects in the coming school year. The last major project was the installation of an HVAC system at the Junior/Senior High School in 2020.

“There is a lot of small work we are doing but they're not huge projects like the HVAC system,” Schnelle said.

The preliminary budget will be available for viewing on Moniteau’s website for at least 30 days, after which the school board will vote on final approval.