The Platte County School District is one of eight districts included in an expansion proposal for the Metropolitan Community College (MCC) District – its first expansion in 30 years. Some voters, however, believe the presentation of the ballot issue has been misleading.
Voters in the Platte County School District will be asked Tuesday, April 6 to attach the district to the community college network, which includes Maple Woods, Penn Valley, Blue River, Longview and the Business and Technology Center. The attachment allows residents within the attached districts an approximately 50 percent discount on tuition at MCC schools. The Park Hill and North Kansas City school districts have long been a part of the MCC network.
The ballot language reads — “For the purpose of providing greater affordable access to quality higher education by providing in-district tuition rates for residents within the Platte County R-3 School District, Shall the Platte County R-3 School District be attached to The Junior College District of Metropolitan Kansas City, Missouri, effective the 22nd day of April 2021?”
Other districts with this measure on their April ballots are Smithville, Kearney and Liberty in the Northland. Further south, voters in the Grain Valley, Oak Grove, Raymore-Peculiar and Harrisonville districts will also see this proposal on their ballots.
What isn’t in the ballot language is the cost to join the MCC District, as the district’s current tax levy is about 21 cents per $100 assessed valuation. Currently, residents in the Platte County School District boundaries do not pay this levy, but they would begin to pay into that pot should the ballot measure pass.
This equates to the establishment of a new tax for residents of the Platte County School District. That district has a current tax levy of $5.01 per $100 assessed valuation and a no-tax-increase bond issue on the April 6 ballot as well.
Earlier this month, the Platte County R-3 School District released a statement on the question
“Platte County School District takes no position on this ballot measure,” the district stated. “As a district, we do not endorse the measure or oppose it.”
In the statement, the district makes the following points:
Platte County R-3 School District had nothing to do with placing this measure on the ballot.
Revenue generated by this tax levy goes to Metropolitan Community Colleges.
This is not tied to Platte County R-3 School District’s no tax increase bond issue, also on the April 6 ballot.
Critics say the ballot measure amounts to a back-door property tax hike with no sunset and question the benefits to the community as none of the MCC schools are in Platte County – Maple Woods Community College is located in Clay County, off Highway 152 near the Metro North Mall area. The tax increase would be of no benefit to those without children, they say, and could be a burden on the elderly and those on fixed incomes.
The levy would increase property taxes by about $40 per year for a $100,000 home.
Currently, the out-of-district charge is $198 per credit hour, with associate’s degrees consisting of 62 credit hours. The in-district fee falls to $107 per credit hour.
According to MCC, increased access to higher education will allow more people to earn a higher income, improving the quality of life throughout the Kansas City area. Additionally, MCC would be able to expand its available services along with the funding boost.
Each school district votes independently whether or not to join the MCC district and if the measure fails to meet a simple majority in any district there will be no change to tuition rates for out-of-district students.