SIKESTON -- If Proposition A is approved by voters Nov. 4, Sikeston Public Schools could end up with just over $300,000 dollars more in their annual budget.
The initiative would make several changes to laws pertaining to casinos with the major change being the removal of the $500 loss limit.
The state auditor has estimated that in addition to $5 million to $7 million annually for higher education, early childhood development, veterans, and other programs and an estimated $18.1 million to $19.0 million annually for local governmental entities receiving gambling boat tax and fee revenues, state governmental entities would receive an estimated $105.1 million to $130.0 million annually for elementary and secondary education if Proposition A is approved.
"The estimated increase we would get is $307,641," said Superintendent Steve Borgsmiller of Sikeston Public Schools. "It's a lot of money but in the net scheme of things it's not a lot of money."
He explained that this amount works out to only 1 percent of Sikeston Public Schools' budget.
"We have a $30 million-plus budget," Borgsmiller said.
More significant to Sikeston Public Schools are "increases that we have been seeing in our state education funding as a result of the state's growth in revenue," he said.
Borgsmiller said while Proposition A funding would be a relatively small influx for Sikeston schools, it still would be helpful.
"Our cost of doing business is going to continue to grow and as those costs grow we are going to need new sources of revenue to meet those needs," he said. "Having an additional source of revenue would be great if indeed it is new revenue."
Borgsmiller said he is hoping that the state doesn't find some way to reduce revenue from other funding streams by reallocating funds that are already going to schools if Proposition A is approved.
"They are trying to forestall that from happening," he said. "The intent of (Proposition A) is that this money is not supplanting any other money."
Borgsmiller said Sikeston Public Schools currently gets around $13 million from the state.
Included in that during the 2007-2008 school year was $1,273,497 from the Classroom Trust Fund "which is the current revenue from gaming taxation," Borgsmiller said. "The Proposition A money will be further segregated from any other fund -- it will not be commingled with the Classroom Trust Fund. These monies will be distributed under a different formula. ... The way the money is going to be distributed is there are going to be some districts that receive some money from this and some that don't."
According to a Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education study released in October, about one-quarter of Missouri's public school students are in districts that are projected to get nothing from Proposition A next year.
New Madrid County R-1 schools are among those that would receive no additional funding, according to a comparison report appearing on the Missouri Association of Rural Education Web site at www.moare.com. As of press time, attempts to reach Bill Nance, superintendent of New Madrid County Central schools, for comments were unsuccessful.
Amounts projected in the comparison for some of the other area school districts: Scott County Central, $30,830; Kelly schools, $80,279; Charleston, $102,961; East Prairie, $90,972; Chaffee, $47,360; Oran, $29,548; Dexter $165,638; and Scott City, $79,158.
Figures in this report are just estimated projections, however.
"None of us really know what's going to happen," Borgsmiller said. "Education is a beneficiary but the real issue is: Do you want to remove the caps on gambling? At least that's the way I look at it."
According to Secretary of State Web site, approving Proposition A would repeal the current individual maximum loss limit of $500 every two hours for gambling and prohibit any future loss limits; require identification to enter the gambling area only if necessary to establish that an individual is at least 21 years old; restrict the number of casinos to those already built or being built; and increase the casino gambling tax from 20 percent to 21 percent. It will also create a new specific education fund from gambling tax proceeds generated as a result of this measure called the "Schools First Elementary and Secondary Education Improvement Fund;" and require annual audits of this new fund.