In an effort to increase its operating budget and prevent additional cuts, the Hickman Mills School District has put two questions on the ballot for the April 7 election. 

One asks voters to approve a $20 million bond. Bonds are a way for school districts to borrow money and pay it back gradually using tax dollars. 

Hickman Mills would use more than half of the bond funds to pay off debt from past building projects, freeing up more money for the operating fund. The remaining dollars would go toward repairs and improvements. 

The other question asks voters to shift the tax levy, decreasing the amount that goes toward debt while increasing the amount that goes toward operations. 

The district says the two ballot measures could free up about $3.4 million dollars for the operating budget annually — without raising tax rates. 

“That’s how we pay our bills, pay our teachers, run our buses, feed our children — in the operating fund,” Superintendent Dennis Carpenter said. 

The ballot measures are a way to improve financial stability, Carpenter said, as the district faces a $14 million budget deficit that has prompted cuts and a plan to consolidate schools. 

Carpenter, who previously served as Hickman Mills superintendent from 2013 to 2017, rejoined the district as interim superintendent in July after the board removed former Superintendent Yaw Obeng. In December, the board voted to extend his contract and removed “interim” from his title. 

In addition to its budget struggles, Hickman Mills is being audited by the state. Hickman Mills is among the less than 1% of Missouri districts that aren’t fully accredited. 

While its most recent state performance scores put it in the top half of the state’s districts, Hickman Mills is required to maintain higher performance for at least another year before its accreditation status can change. 

Financial issues can affect accreditation directly — such as if the district’s reserves drop below a certain amount — and indirectly by prompting cuts that harm academic achievement. 

Carpenter said he’s not immediately worried about Hickman Mills’ reserves after changes the district has already made. But he said further cuts could affect achievement “to some degree.” 

“Every time we cut something, every reduction we made, we told our team we didn’t make that cut because we didn’t value what was being done in that area,” he said. “We just had to move from what was ideal to what’s essential given our budget reality.”

Here’s what else to know about the ballot measures before the election. 

What would the bond cover? 

Schools typically use general obligation bonds — like the one on the ballot this year — for building-related expenses such as constructing or renovating schools or athletic facilities, addressing deferred maintenance issues or furnishing classrooms. 

They require voter approval and are repaid from the district’s debt service levy — a separate pot of money with its own tax rate that is just used for repaying certain debts. They can’t be used for regular operating expenses such as salaries. 

This year, Hickman Mills’ primary focus isn’t new projects. Instead, it wants to use more than half of the $20 million bond to get rid of about $13.5 million in debt from a different type of bond — a certificate of participation — that is repaid out of the operating fund. 

That would free up about $1.3 million to $1.5 million per year from the operating fund, Carpenter said. 

Some of the remaining money would be used for building and athletic facilities improvements.

Carpenter said one of the most visible items for the community will be replacing stadium lighting for Ruskin High School. 

This year, the lights “just started dying on us left and right,” he said, “so much so that we had to move up some football games so that we conclude them before dark.”

Another visible project could be upgrades at Warford Elementary School meant to serve current students and attract new families who have moved into the neighborhood, Carpenter said. 

The bond will also likely fund less visible projects through the district such as those related to HVAC, roofs and plumbing, he said. 

What would the debt levy transfer do?

The debt levy transfer would increase the tax levy for operations by 30 cents per $100 of assessed value of a property. The tax levy for repaying debts would go down by the same amount, from $1.10 to $0.80, leaving the overall tax rate the same. 

Carpenter said the district is able to reduce the debt service levy because it doesn’t need the full amount it is collecting now to keep up with existing debts, even if the $20 million bond passes. He said that’s because Hickman Mills has managed its debt responsibly, including being conservative about how much debt it takes on. 

Approving the transfer would free up an additional $2 million annually for the operating fund without raising taxes. 

How would a ‘yes’ vote affect the district and its students? 

If both measures pass, Hickman Mills will have about $3.4 million more in its operating budget each year. 

Carpenter said each million dollars represents more than 1% of the budget. 

If voters approve the ballot measures, “it puts us on the road to a more sustainable destiny,” Carpenter said, even if state funding falls and local tax assessments are reduced. 

“I’m not telling you that when these two questions pass, and if they pass, we’re going to add something new,” Carpenter said. “It helps us to sustain, and then it also helps us to start shoring up our fund reserves.”

The two measures are not dependent on each other to function, so even one passing would help the district somewhat, Carpenter said. Passing both would help the district more. 

The bond issue requires about 57% of the vote to pass while the levy transfer can pass with a simple majority, he said. 

What would happen if the ballot measures don’t pass?

“If they did not pass, we would struggle to operate at the level that our school district community has grown to expect,” Carpenter said. “We have to live within the means that are afforded to us as a school district. So it would just require us to, not unlike you do in your personal household, look at what are those things that are essential versus those that are ideal.” 

That could mean more cuts, Carpenter said, “given our local reality and some of the things that we see at the state and federal level as well.”

How would the ballot measures affect my taxes? 

Carpenter said a yes vote would not increase the tax rate. 

The levy transfer simply increases the rate in one area and lowers it in another, leading to zero overall change. And even with a reduced debt service levy, the district could afford to make payments for a $20 million bond without increasing the tax rate. 

Individual taxpayers’ property taxes can go up if their property values increase, even if the overall tax rate does not. Passing a bond also increases the overall amount that the district is committing to repay with taxpayer dollars. 

But Carpenter said a no vote wouldn’t lower the tax rate. While the district theoretically could lower the debt service levy even further if the bond were to fail, it could instead choose to pay off its other debts more aggressively or build capacity for future debt. 

What will I see on my ballot? 

Where can I go to find more information? 

The district has information about the April election on its website: https://www.hickmanmills.org/board/bond-2026