SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) - A southwest Missouri school district will be more than $47,000 short because the county assessor mistakenly overvalued taxpayer vehicles.
Christian County assessor Danny Gray said earlier media reports of a $1.9 million shortfall reflect assessed tax valuation. The error means Nixa Public Schools will pull from $1.9 million less than expected, which translates into $47,300 less in tax dollars, the Springfield News-Leader reports.
Thirteen other school districts in Christian County also were affected, but Nixa took the hardest hit.
Gray said the county valued some vehicles higher than their worth because of a programming mistake.
The county recently stopped assessing personal property as if it were in perfect condition. The county now rates a vehicle's worth assuming it's in average condition. But county programmers didn't apply the new policy, and residents who paid online had their vehicles overvalued based on the previous rating system.
Nixa Superintendent Stephen Kleinsmith said the loss comes when school finances already are strained because of withholdings from Gov. Jay Nixon and other state budget shortcomings. Kleinsmith said the error will cost the district "about a teacher."
Only a small amount of taxpayer money for the Rogersville and Spokane districts comes from Christian County. Gray estimated the mistake caused all of the affected districts to be a total of $280,000 short of their projected budgets.