The Moniteau School Board passed a budget Monday for the 2020-21 school year that comes with a COVID-19-related crunch — including a tax increase.

“It's been a challenge. COVID-19 has obviously impacted every school across the state, and Moniteau is not immune to this impact,” said Thomas Samosky, district superintendent.

In an 8-1 vote, board members approved a budget of $22,347,764, which is $94,529 less than the 2019-20 school year. Even with a tax increase of 3.26 mills, officials said there is an expected deficit of $642,040.

The district's new total millage rate is 93.88 mills. A mill equals $1 in tax revenue for each $1,000 in a property's assessed value.

“That will cost that average homestead around $55 more in taxes,” said John D'Amore, district business manager. “Taxes are never good, but we're in the middle of the squeeze.”

COVID-19 costs

While the tax increase will generate around $221,000, it isn't enough to offset the expected deficit incurred by COVID-19 costs and the potential effect the virus will have on the district's revenue.

Throughout the pandemic, D'Amore said, many of the state's decisions revolved around maintaining the pay to school staff and faculty, but at the same time the state froze allocated funding for the upcoming year.

According to the budget, Moniteau expects to receive $7,847,408 in basic instructional subsidies from state allocation, a decrease of $14,963.

The only area in the state's allocation that increased was through a school safety and security grant, which showed an increase of $180,059.

D'Amore said this is because the state chose to use some CARES Act funding to supplement the grant. He said the grant comes with limitations in terms of using the funding toward COVID-19-related upgrades. The grant's funds also have to be spent by October.

“We can't use that to address the deficit in the budget,” D'Amore said. “We're looking at things like touch-free towel dispensers and touch-free soap dispensers.”

However, the district was awarded $237,967 in other CARES Act funding — through Education Stabilization Funds — that helped cut into the deficit.

D'Amore said the district currently plans to use the funding to offset technology costs, and it can be spent over the course of the next three years. He said this would help pay for some of the technology upgrades brought about during the pandemic.

“We went out and got all new Chromebooks,” he said. “We're trying to put Chromebooks in the hands of all our students.”

Also factoring in the deficit are the construction projects slated for this year that involve upgrading HVAC and roofing.

“We were already fully committed to it, and there's no backing out now,” D'Amore said. “But it's going to pay off in the long run. I think we're going to be superefficient heading into the future.”

Manager retires

The board also voted unanimously Monday night to accept D'Amore's letter of retirement.

D'Amore said he planned to stay through the remainder of his contract, and he will be there to help the new business manager acclimate to the role.

Samosky said D'Amore has been a great asset to the district, and his presence will be missed.

“John has done a fantastic job at Moniteau School District,” Samosky said. “He's been a great mentor to me during my brief tenure here. He's been able to provide me with a lot of insight into the district.”

According to Michael Panza, board president, the board wants to have applications submitted by August for D'Amore's replacement, and they want to make a decision by October.

Samosky said it will be instrumental to have a seamless transition as the district, like many across the country, has a difficult year ahead.

“We're going to experience challenges and we know that,” he said. “We believe that we can still provide a high level of education for our students.”