Prop S FAQ: Rockwood Finances

Approximately 66% of the school district's operating funds come from local property taxes. Another 13% come from other local sources, primarily the statewide Prop C sales tax and interest earned on the district's investments.

Less than 20% of our operating revenue is received from the state and federal governments. Funding from these sources is not expected to increase in the coming years.

More than 68% of every dollar received by the district goes directly to student instruction, including teacher and instructional staff salaries and benefits.

Instruction - 68¢ per dollar

Expenditures connected with the day-to-day operations of providing instruction to our students at our school sites.  These include but are not limited to the salaries and benefits for teachers, classroom assistants, nurses and social workers as well as the expenditures to support our curriculum in the classroom and extra activities in fine arts and athletics.

Facilities - 17¢ per dollar

Expenditures connected with the care and upkeep of our facilities.  These include the salaries and benefits of our custodial, grounds, maintenance and other facilities staff as well as the supplies, purchased services and capital needs of our district to keep our campuses open and safe.

School Support - 6¢ per dollar

Expenditures connected with directing and managing the operation of the district's school sites. These include the salaries and benefits for the principals, assistant and associate principals and office staff as well as supplies and purchased services to support the daily operations of the buildings.

Central Admin - 5¢ per dollar

Expenditures connected with activities establishing and administering policy for operating the district as a whole. The costs include the salaries and benefits, supplies and purchased services covering the activities of the Board of Education, superintendent and assistant superintendents, Communications, Human Resources, Finance and Technology departments.

Transportation - 4¢ per dollar

Expenditures connected with the transporting of our K-12 students to and from home and for after-school sponsored events.  These include the salaries and benefits of our bus drivers and transportation office staff as well as the supplies, purchased services and capital needs to maintain our top-rated bus fleet.

The following chart shows total revenue from all sources per student for St. Louis County school districts for the 2023-24 fiscal year, the most recent year for which final comparative data is available for all schools:

Total revenue per student is a measure of resources showing that Rockwood ranks low among area school districts, however, it is not the best measure for showing resources available for salaries and benefits across districts because it includes significant amounts of revenue that is restricted for other uses. For example, Valley Park’s revenue includes a $16.5 million bond issue for capital improvements. 

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has defined “Current Expenditures per Pupil” as the best measure of school districts' comparative use of resources. The following table provides a reconciliation of Rockwood’s total revenue per student (above) to the amount spent per student:

School districts situated wholly within St. Louis County or Jackson County, MO establish a separate tax rate for each class of property, including residential, agricultural, commercial and personal property.  All other school districts in the state set a blended tax rate, meaning that all classes of property are taxed at the same rate. Since Rockwood spans two counties, it must charge a single tax rate on all classes of property. 

As a result, school districts within St. Louis County set higher tax rates on commercial and personal property than on residential and therefore have a commercial tax base advantage over Rockwood. Commercial properties in Rockwood pay the same rate that residents do, which is the second lowest commercial rate in the county.
 

Rockwood is committed to professional, prudent and conservative financial management, which includes the involvement of community business leaders, taxpayers, parents, teachers, staff and administrators, with oversight by the Board of Education.

The Rockwood School District is the only district in the state of Missouri to hold all four of the following financial recognitions:

• AAA rating with Standard & Poor's. Rockwood is only one of three districts in the state and less than 100 districts in the nation to hold this rating.
• Rockwood has earned the ASBO Meritorious Budget Award for 25 straight years. It is currently one of only seven school districts in the state to receive the award.
• Rockwood has earned the Certificate of Excellence (COE) in financial reporting from the ASBO for 20 straight years. It is currently one of only three districts in the state to receive the award.
• Rockwood has earned the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in financial reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA). Rockwood has received this recognition 20 straight years.

In addition, the district consistently receives a top-level (unmodified) opinion in our annual independent audits and the district's director of finance has earned certification for fiscal credibility. It is also important to note that the passing of Prop 3 in November 2023, which was a no-tax-increase levy transfer, enabled the district to have dedicated annual funds to address annual safety, technology and maintenance needs. 100% of those annual funds go to those annual projects, eliminating the need to issue bonds for annual expenses, borrow funds and incur interest. As promised to the community, the Prop 3 dashboard outlines the annual projects paid for with those funds. Prop 3 funding is unrelated to operating revenue, and did not take from or provide funds that would be available for salaries and benefits.

Here is a table that shows Rockwood's assessed value per student. It is yet another means of comparison, however, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has defined “Current Expenditures per Pupil” as the best measure of school districts' comparative use of resources.

Rockwood has not asked for a tax increase in over 30 years. The change in tax bills that occurs every two years is due to the county’s reassessment of property values as required by state statutes. 

Reassessment does not result in a commensurate increase in the district’s revenues. The district rolls back its tax rate in compliance with the Hancock Amendment unless there has been voter approval of a new tax ceiling. Hancock, a constitutional amendment passed in 1980, limits the growth in property tax revenue collected by school districts to the increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or 5%, whichever is lower. This is why the Rockwood School District’s current tax rate is the lowest it has been in over 30 years. 

Even when assessed property values go up, Missouri school districts do not automatically collect more money. The Hancock Amendment, a state law passed in 1980, limits how much revenue a school district can receive from property taxes without voter approval. This limit is tied to the rate of inflation (the Consumer Price Index (CPI)) or 5%, whichever is lower.

When assessed values rise, the school district must lower (or "roll back") its tax rate so that the total tax revenue stays within those limits. Each reassessment year when the voters have not established a new tax rate ceiling, the Rockwood school board reduces the district's operating tax rate to comply with the Hancock Amendment.

In short, higher assessed values do not result in a "windfall" for the district. The only way the district can increase revenue beyond the Hancock limits is with voter approval.

In addition, the senior citizen tax freeze will reduce the revenues collected by the district on properties that qualify for the freeze prior to reassessment. Property owners will continue to pay on the assessed value in place in their base year, in accordance with eligibility guidelines.

In 2024, Rockwood’s cost to educate each student was among the lowest of any district in St. Louis County. (Comparison of costs for 2025 are not yet available.) Even with lower spending, Rockwood is one of the top-performing districts in Missouri. Niche.com ranked us as the fourth-best school district in the entire state.

Our students have outstanding opportunities and continue to shine:

• This past school year, 22 Rockwood students were named semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program.
• Marquette High had 14 semifinalists, the third highest total of any school in Missouri and the second highest among public schools.
• Fourteen Rockwood students earned National Merit Scholarships, making up more than 10% of all recipients in Missouri.
• Marquette tied for the most National Merit recipients of any school in the state, public or private, and Lafayette ranked third.
• The Class of 2025 had 260 students score 30 or higher on the ACT.
• 71.2% of the Class of 2025 earned at least one college credit while still in high school.
• A Rockwood senior earned the Project Lead the Way Biomedical Innovation Scholarship this past spring for her capstone project in her PLTW course at Rockwood Summit.
• A team of Rockwood students earned a national championship in Business Management at the 2025 Future Business Leaders of America National Leadership Conference.
• More than 80 Rockwood students are placed in hands-on internships in career fields of interest each summer through the Partners in Education (PIE) Summer Internship program. PIE also gives students the opportunity to career shadow during the school year.

Rockwood continues to invest in Career and Technical Education:

• Three of the four Rockwood high schools have metal and wood processes course offerings for students, and Eureka High just opened a new, state-of-the-art Metals room this past spring. Three of Rockwood's four high schools also offer the "Geometry in Construction" course, which allows students to apply mathematical concepts to real-world construction processes.
• Two Rockwood graduates earned "Tops at Tech" honors from South Tech High School this past school year, an annual recognition to honor the school's most exceptional career and technical education students.
• Rockwood students earned a total of nine medals - two gold, four silver and three bronze - covering a variety of categories at this year's SkillsUSA Missouri state competition.

Rockwood taxpayers are getting a great return on their investment in public education. However, without additional funding, we may not be able to keep up this level of success. Other districts in St. Louis County are offering more competitive salaries and benefits, and without the ability to match them, we risk losing the teachers and staff who are essential to these achievements.

Source: Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Comprehensive Data Systems for 2023-24 school year

It is also important to note that the passing of Prop 3 in November 2023, which was a no-tax-increase levy transfer, enabled the district to have dedicated annual funds to address annual safety, technology and maintenance needs. 100% of those annual funds go to those annual projects, eliminating the need to issue bonds for annual expenses, borrow funds and incur interest. As promised to the community, the Prop 3 dashboard outlines the annual projects paid for with those funds. Prop 3 funding is unrelated to operating revenue, and did not take from or provide funds that would be available for salaries and benefits.

All school districts maintain a fund balance to cover the timing gap between when bills are due and when tax revenue is received. Prop S will increase the budget and create greater cash flow needs via increased payroll. As a result, the fund balance must grow to cover payroll during the timing gaps.

As a result of the fund balance and the district's fiscal responsibility, Rockwood receives a AAA rating from Standard and Poor’s. Rockwood is one of only three districts in Missouri to receive this perfect credit score. So when Rockwood issues a bond, investors are willing to accept a lower interest rate, saving millions over the life of the bond compared to lower-rated districts. 

85% of Rockwood’s expenditures go toward salaries and benefits. Due to a healthy fund balance, Rockwood doesn’t have to borrow money to cover payroll like some districts do—saving on interest costs.

The district does not currently have $120M in reserves. While the District's forecasted 2025-26 overall fund balance is $128 million it is important to note that $30 million of that fund balance is reserved specifically for building and capital expenses (such as Prop 3), debt service and our self-sustaining funds (including child nutrition and community education). The reserve, also known as the fund balance, is basically the balance of our operating bank account. There are times during the school year after tax revenue is received in December/January, that the balance is that high, but it is spent down throughout the school year, so Rockwood can pay its staff and its bills. At the start of this fiscal year, for example, the fund balance was $93.5M, as reported in the annual budget document. However, today (end of October), the fund balance is less than $50 million. The graph below represents how the fund balance fluctuates throughout the fiscal year.

This is precisely why the district has a fund balance, required by Board policy to be at least 22% of current year expenditures at the end of each budget year (June 30). This amount is required to provide cash flow and make payroll through mid-December when the next year’s funds will be received. The fund balance protects and provides stability for a district’s finances throughout the fiscal year. It also provides reserves for:

• Emergency expenses
• Unexpected price increases - for example:
  • December 2024, an increase of more than $1M in the annual property/liability insurance premium
  • FY 2026 utility rate increases
• Unexpected revenue decreases - for example:
  • Decrease in the tax collection rate due to the Senior tax freeze and protests
  • Withholdings of state and federal funding

Salaries and benefits are recurring and compounding expenses. Using reserves for ongoing payroll expenses is not sustainable. Current raises already negotiated for the year 2026-27 place the district in a period of planned deficit spending through 2029, spending down reserves to near the required 22%. 

Here is an excerpt from the district’s 2025-26 Annual Budget, page 118:

Based on the factors included in the forecasting through 2028/29, the District is projected to remain above our current board policy levels, but the projected budgets do include a planned spend-down of the fund balance. Future District planning must include strategies to reverse this trend of deficit spending. It is important to keep in mind these fund balance levels are also prior to any adjustments for the impact of the senior citizen tax freeze, potential  changes to SAT funding levels in the Foundation Formula, and other revenue uncertainties that have not been included in our forecasting. These strategies may include actions that increase revenues, reduce expenditures, or both. The Board of Education has begun considering the possibility of a ballot initiative to increase the operating tax levy. Staffing levels will be closely monitored for any possible adjustments related to declining enrollment. The District will continue to monitor our revenue sources, explore new revenue opportunities, make fiscally responsible decisions regarding expenditures and continue to inform our Board of Education and community on the financial position of the District.

The proposed tax increase would provide the district with additional, stable resources to support competitive salaries and benefits and continue attracting and retaining high-quality staff in the face of rising costs.

No, Rockwood has not increased administrative positions by over 30% over the last 12 years. Here is a graph that shows Rockwood’s personnel counts as reported in the district’s annual budget documents:

It shows that Rockwood had 1,433 teachers in 2015 and 108 administrators. In this year’s budget, there are 1,403 teachers and 118 administrators. The number of teaching positions is down slightly as a result of declining enrollment. However, even though enrollment is down, Rockwood maintains the same number of buildings that require administrative support. Only two of the ten additional administrators over the past decade were new positions. The others were positions that were transitioned from non-admin to admin. Here is additional context about the change in administrator numbers and how many administrators Rockwood has in comparison to other school districts:

• In 2014 and again in 2022, a total of eight curriculum content facilitators were transitioned to admin positions (coordinators) because they did not have enough days on their contract to do their jobs (they had been on 190-day teacher contracts and were moved to 260-day coordinator contracts);
• In 2016, when Rockwood brought its transportation fleet in house, a director of transportation position was added;
• According to the latest available data from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Rockwood has 190 students per administrator, which is more students per administrator than 15 of 22 area districts.
   

School Year	Old Title	New Title
2014-15	Content Facilitator-STEM	Coordinator of STEM
2014-15	Content Facilitator-Science (6-12	Coordinator of Science (6-12)
2014-15	Content Facilitator-Literacy K-5 and Title Programs	Coordinator of Literacy K-5 and Title Programs
2014-15	Content Facilitator-Literacy 6-12, Speech 6-12 & K-12 Library Media	Coordinator of Literacy (6-12), Speech (6-12) and K-12 Library Media
2015-16	Content Facilitator-Fine Arts	Coordinator of Fine Arts
2016-17	n/a - new position	Director of Transportation
2017-18	n/a - new position	ECSE Process Coordinator
2022-23	Content Facilitator - Elementary Math	Content Coordinator of Elementary Math
2022-23	Content Facilitator - (6-12) World Language	Content Coordinator of 6-12 World Language
2022-23	Content Facilitator - Elementary Science	Content Coordinator of Elementary Science
2022-23	Content Facilitator - Practical Arts	Content Coordinator of  Practical Arts

 

 

 

Here is the latest comparison data available on the DESE website, showing school district fund balances at the end of the 2023-2024 school year:

Fund Balance (General + Teachers) and % per 2023-24 ASBR; the General Fund Balance will include self-sustaining operations, such as food service; Rockwood ASBR on accrual basis which will reflect a difference from cash basis.

Rockwood did not hire 27 new administrators during that time. The 15 elementary assistant principals are actually elementary interns (on a teacher contract with a stipend) who used to be included in the teacher count reported to DESE and during that timeframe they were moved to the administrative count. This was simply an accounting change to better reflect their role within the district.

Also during that timeframe, content facilitators were transitioned to curriculum coordinators (administrators) because they did not have enough days on their contract to do their jobs (they had been on 190-day teacher contracts and were moved to 260-day coordinator contracts). 

The new administrative positions that were added during that time frame:

• 2016: A director of transportation position was added when Rockwood transitioned to its own in-house transportation fleet/department;
• 2017: A new early childhood special education coordinator position was added to address growing needs in that area.

The district continually looks for ways to increase efficiency and performs a complete review of the budget as each year’s budget is developed. 

Eighty-five percent of the district’s operating budget is spent on teacher and staff salaries and benefits. Staffing levels are scrutinized each year in the context of class sizes and caseloads. This includes administrative staff, where assistant principals have been replaced with administrative interns as enrollment has decreased.

Only 10% of the district’s operating budget is spent on supplies and services, which is the discretionary portion of the budget. Building and departmental budgets are reviewed each year with zero-based budgeting used where appropriate. The remaining 5% of the budget is absorbed by utilities, property and liability insurance, and fuel costs over which we exercise cost control measures. Examples of savings and cost control measures over areas other than salaries and benefits include:

• Since September 2018, the District has saved nearly $1.9 million in energy costs thanks to retrocommissioning and controls upgrade projects on HVAC systems around the District.
• The District will continue to save on energy costs as Prop 3 funds allocated to HVAC systems address our aging systems.
• The District averages an annual estimated rebate of $120,000 through proper management of our P-Card program
• The District was a leader in responding to Missouri Legislation Get the Lead Out of School Drinking Water Act (RSMo 160.077) by completing this work almost a year before the deadline and was reimbursed approximately $235,000 through State grants for the testing and monitoring of all potable water outlets.
• Transportation: The district moved its bus fleet and operations in house beginning in 2016 and as reported to the Board in 2020, the district saved $2.7M over just the first four years of that transition.
• The passing of Prop 3 in 2023 is saving Rockwood millions of dollars each year in what would have been interest costs if the levy transfer had not been approved and the district would have had to continue to rely on bonds for annual maintenance projects and purchases. If you look at Prop 4 alone, which passed in 2015, more than 20% of the money authorized went to pay interest ($20,266,619).