Public School Bonds are a type of loan that school districts issue to raise funds for large capital projects like building, renovating, or repairing schools and other facilities.

School districts are required by state law to ask voters for permission to sell bonds to investors in order to raise the capital dollars needed for building projects. Essentially, the voters are asked to give permission for the district to take out a loan and pay that loan back over an extended period of time, much like a family takes out a mortgage loan for their home. A school board calls a bond election so voters can decide whether or not they want their tax contributions to pay for proposed facility projects.

Bond funds can be used to pay for new buildings, additions, and renovations to existing facilities, land acquisition, technology infrastructure, and equipment for new or existing buildings. Bonds cannot be used for salaries or operating costs such as utility bills, supplies, building maintenance, fuel, and insurance.

Missouri school districts are funded by three major sources: Federal, State, and Local, with the vast majority of district funds being supplied by Local and State sources. Two factors that drive school finance in Missouri are enrollment and local property values. 

School property taxes are determined by a tax rate approved each year by the Board of Education. The district establishes two separate rates: one for operating expenses and one for debt repayment. Together, these rates are often referred to as the district’s total tax rate.

• Operating Funds are used to fund the day-to-day operations of a school district, including teacher and staff salaries; utilities; student services and curriculum; professional development; and facility maintenance and management.
• Debt Service Funds are generated from the sale of voter-approved bonds. These funds are restricted to use only for projects such as the construction of new facilities; additions and renovations to existing facilities; safety and security projects; and purchase of capital expense items such as buses and large technology expenses.

School districts have no control over and do not set local property values. Actual property values are reassessed in every odd year by your local County Assessor's office, who receives guidance and oversight from the State Tax Commission. 

This proposal is a no-tax-increase bond; that is, it would extend the district’s debt while maintaining our current debt service tax levy. Each year, the district recalculates the amount needed to be levied in Debt Service to pay the next year's principal and interest payments on our debt, with some cushion built in for extreme circumstances. The 2026 Bond Issue only proposes an extension in debt that would allow us to maintain a close or almost exact debt service levy.

Some households may experience personal property value increases as a result of reassessments in Jasper and Newton Counties, which are not controlled by school districts.

The last time Joplin Schools asked for a tax levy increase was in 2012, when the tax levy was raised to its current rate of $3.66 per $100 of assessed valuation. That increase was sought in response to several post-tornado construction projects including East Middle School, Soaring Heights Elementary, Irving Elementary, and Joplin High School/Franklin Tech.

Joplin Schools has maintained the $3.66 tax levy since 2012 with no increases. Our tax levy compares favorably to several area districts, as shown here:

No. Bond funds can legally only be used to pay for certain things, like new buildings, additions/renovations to existing facilities, land acquisition, and technology infrastructure/equipment for new or existing buildings.

If the bond election is approved, Joplin Schools will create a bond oversight committee of district staff, community members, and taxpayers. This group will meet quarterly and receive information on how bond funds are being spent. The district also undergoes an annual audit where the district's finances are deeply reviewed.

The 2026 Eagle Bond proposal was developed by the Long Range Facility Committee. This is a group made up of 40 community members, parents, city leaders, business owners, and Joplin Schools staff members who volunteered to evaluate district properties in order to create a Long Range Facility Plan to guide our Capital Projects for the next 5-15 years. The committee began meeting in 2023 and has toured every district campus and facility, comparing educational suitability, program needs, student demographics, safety, and projected student enrollment data.

In January 2025, the Committee recommended to the Board of Education a slate of projects to begin addressing the facility needs they considered to be of highest priority: those that addressed suitable educational spaces for all students, suitable Special Education spaces for intensive programs, and Early Childhood/PreK expansion. Those Phase 1 recommendations (upgrades at three of our oldest elementary schools) were approved by the Board of Education on Jan. 7, 2025, to be funded using up to $11M of district capital reserves.

In October 2025, the Committee recommended Phase 2 of facility improvements at all seven of the district’s oldest elementary buildings to further address suitable ecuational spaces for all students, site access safety and parking, comprehensive window replacement, and interior finishing improvements. Phase 2 recommendations also included an indoor educational and activity facility on the campus of Joplin High School, and improvements at Junge campus for athletics, building, grounds, and transportation needs. The Phase 2 recommendations were approved by the Board of Education on Oct. 28, 2025. Funding for Phase 2 recommendations, including the approval of up to $10M of district capital reserves and the approval of placing a $40M no-tax-increase bond issue on the April 2026 ballot.

The main focus of the Long Range Facility Committee’s Phase 1 and Phase 2 recommendations is on supporting academic success in Joplin Schools through creating safe, suitable educational spaces. 

Phase 1 work has invested up to $11M of district capital reserves into elementary building improvements; Phase 2 work would invest up to $25M ($10M of district capital reserves plus $15M of debt service bonds) into elementary building improvements. This is a total of $36M being invested in our elementary buildings, supporting nearly every student who will attend Joplin Schools in the future.

The remainder of the 2026 Eagle Bond funds ($25M) would be invested in ancillary improvement projects, including an indoor educational and activity facility on the campus of Joplin High School, and Junge campus improvements impacting athletic and building, grounds, and transportation support facilities.

While it makes sound financial sense for a homeowner to eventually pay off their mortgage, knowing they might enjoy their twilight years debt-free, that is not the case for corporations, businesses, or public entities. Unlike a household, a public school district intends to last well beyond the lifetime of its current stewards. The debt we maintain now will be supporting future generations of Joplin Schools students, staff, and families. 

South Middle School was built after a successful bond resolution in 2007, which also funded major renovations and improvements at North Middle School. East Middle School was re-built in 2014, as a result of the 2021 bond resolution that followed the 2011 tornado. As such, our middle schools are in good enough shape that they are not the main priority of Phase 2 projects. However, when Phase 2 work is completed through a successful bond election this year, we will be in a strong position to advocate for necessary middle school upgrades over the next 10-15 years as those buildings begin to age and need repairs.