HB 2566 -- School Improvement District Act

Sponsor:  Hughes

This bill establishes the School Improvement District Act, which
allows any municipality or county to establish a school
improvement district.  Each district must be a not-for-profit
corporation organized under Chapter 355, RSMo.  To form a
district, a petition must be filed with the municipal clerk.  The
bill specifies the requirements of the petition, which must
include a five-year plan stating a description of the purposes of
the proposed district, the services it will provide, the
improvements it will make, and an estimate of these costs.

Upon receipt of a proper petition, the governing body of the
municipality in which the proposed district is located must hold
a public hearing and may adopt an ordinance to establish the
district.  The municipal clerk must report in writing the
establishment of the district to the Department of Economic
Development.  The district will be governed by a board of between
five and 30 directors.  The bill specifies the qualifications and
terms of the board members.

Each district will have all the powers necessary to carry out its
purposes, except those which were specifically limited in the
petition that was approved by the governing body.

A district must:

(1)  Annually reimburse the municipality for the reasonable and
actual expenses it incurs as a result of the district, up to 1.5%
of the revenues collected by the district in that year;

(2)  Submit its annual budget to the municipal governing body for
review.  The governing body can make recommendations regarding
the budget, but cannot require that changes be made; and

(3)  Submit an annual report to the municipal clerk and the
department with certain specified information.

A district may:

(1)  Issue bonds to carry out its powers, duties, or purposes and
enter into cooperative agreements with a variety of entities who
can issue bonds and loan the proceeds to the district;

(2)  Use any funding method available to community improvement
districts established under Sections 67.1401 - 67.1571;

(3)  Establish different classes of real property within the
district for special assessments; and

(4)  Levy, by resolution, one or more special assessments against
real property within the boundaries of the district upon receipt
of a petition signed by owners of real property collectively
owning more than 50% by assessed value of real property within
the district and more than 50% per capita of the owners of all
real property within the district.  The petition must specify the
maximum levy amount.  However, by resolution of the board, the
district may levy a special assessment rate lower than the
maximum rate specified in the petition and may increase the levy
without further approval of the district's real property owners
if the rate increase does not exceed the rate ceiling specified
in the petition.

A separate fund or account must be created by the district for
each special assessment levied.  The proceeds of each assessment
must be credited to the appropriate fund or account and used
solely to pay the costs incurred in undertaking the specified
service or project.

A municipality in which any part of a district is located may, by
ordinance, establish a school improvement district municipal fund
in its treasury.  The bill specifies how the funds may be used.

Missouri House of Representatives
94th General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Last Updated October 15, 2008 at 3:12 pm