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Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Parkway School District Gives Raises Following Millions in Cuts

After cutting $8 million from the budget and eliminating 130 full-time jobs, KMOV reports that the Parkway School District gave its gave administrators and department heads raises. Watch KMOV's story here.

As previously reported by Patch, in February, the Parkway School Board voted to cut up to $9.63 million from the district's budget over the next two years. At the time, school officials blamed the depressed economy for lower revenue.  According to a report by KMOV investigative reporter Craig Cheatham, the district cut $8 million of that this year and those budget cuts eliminated 130 full-time positions. (Watch Craig Cheatham's complete report on KMOV.com here.) However, Cheatham also reports that a few months after deciding on the cuts, the district gave all of its administrators and department heads pay raises, including all 70 employees making more than $100,000 a year. Parkway school officials tell Patch that vote came at the June 13 …

Friday, November 9, 2012

Tax Loophole For St. Louis County Country Clubs Has Homeowners Paying More

A loophole reportedly allows private country clubs in West County to pay less taxes, affecting what school districts like Parkway receive and forcing homeowners to pay more. Watch KMOV's story here.

According to a recent news report by KMOV invstigative reporter Chris Nagus, private country clubs in Missouri receive a "sweetheart deal" which allows them to pay less in taxes. (View Chris Nagus' report on KMOV here.)  As a result, homeowners pay more in taxes and school districts, including the Parkway School District, receive less money for education. According to Nagus' report, Town and Country's Bellerive Country Club, Meadowbrook, and Westwood are all country clubs located within the Parkway school district. He said Parkway is losing $218,850 a year due to the loophole. Parkway School District Board President Beth Feldman is interviewed in the KMOV report. She points out that any extra money would help Parkway because the district …

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