Voters in the Hickman Mills School District will decide on April 7 whether to approve a $20 million bond issue to pay off facility debt and address building maintenance as the district grapples with how to make up a budget shortfall.
District leaders said they face a budget deficit of about $14 million, forcing them to look at job cuts and restructuring to improve the district’s finances by the end of the 2027 school year.
They hope to help fill that gap by issuing a general obligation bond and shifting 30 cents of the district’s debt service levy into the operating levy. A question for each measure will appear on the April 7 ballot.
The school district said on its website that a $20 million general obligation bond would allow it to move existing debt to its debt service fund, pay off existing debt for its facilities and address building maintenance and safety needs.
Superintendent Dennis Carpenter said at February’s board of education meeting that most of the money would go toward paying off existing lease obligations, but the district would still have about $5 million for building projects.
Carpenter said the district needs to address deferred maintenance and is also looking to invest in Warford Elementary School. He said there is a growing community in that area, but residents aren’t sending their kids to school in the Hickman Mills School District.
“You have to do this work regardless of whether or not the bond passed, because if not, you're not shovel-ready,” Carpenter said. “So what we want to do is be shovel-ready when and if we get the opportunity after April 7.”
A general obligation bond is the primary way school districts fund improvements and repairs to buildings. School districts have to ask property owners for permission to borrow money because their property taxes cover the principal and interest payment.
The April bond would not require a property tax increase because older debt will have been paid off within the existing levy, according to the district.
“This approach allows the district to responsibly maintain and improve school facilities while continuing to use the same property tax rate currently dedicated to school debt repayment,” the district said on its website.
If both questions pass, the district estimates an annual increase of about $3.4 million for its operating budget, which includes costs for teacher pay, staff benefits, instructional materials and transportation.
Bond ask comes as district navigates $14 million budget shortfall
The bond comes as the district prepares to close Truman Elementary School and cut more than 70 educators and staff, including math and reading literacy specialists, behavior intervention specialists, library media and custodian staff.
The district estimated its cost-saving plan would save the district nearly $13 million, but it also raised concerns about remaining staff’s ability to meet students’ needs.
Carpenter, recently promoted to superintendent, said the cause of the district’s budget deficit is still unclear, and hopes more answers will come out of an ongoing state audit. The auditor’s office launched a full audit into the school district in August following a whistleblower complaint about the potential misuse of school funds.
The district has also undergone leadership changes after the school board announced last summer that it relieved former Superintendent Yaw Obeng of his duties. During his five-year tenure, Obeng pushed Hickman Mills to regain full accreditation.
The school district is still one of few Missouri districts without the state’s stamp of approval, despite higher scores.
