Raytown School District press conference on Winchester TIF

The Raytown School District will host a press conference/rally on Wednesday, December 19 at 5:00 p.m. at the Raytown Schools Education and Conference Center, 10750 E. 350 Highway.  The purpose of the rally is to offer information regarding a proposed Sixth Amendment to the Winchester TIF established in 1991 by the city of Kansas City, which is set to use a surplus of millions of TIF monies to fund a soccer complex in Swope Park.  The District believes this is an attempt to divert millions of potential education dollars away from Raytown and also negatively impacts other taxing jurisdictions which provide services for libraries, mental health needs, and for the blind.

The Raytown School District is specifically opposed to the Sixth Amendment, as it believes:

• The amendment seeks to use monies that paid by taxpayers for school and library purposes to build a soccer complex.   
• The amendment seeks to unfairly use taxpayer monies from one school district for recreational improvements in another school district. 
• The amendment seeks to extend a TIF that is set to expire and create new projects beyond the 10 year statutory limit. 
• The amendment seeks to cost taxpayers an additional $4 million and nine additional years for a total of $13 million in lost funds for Raytown schools
• The amendment violates the Missouri TIF Act in several ways, including the failure to distribute surplus funds to the taxing districts.

*A complete copy of the legal objections filed with the TIF Commission is available upon request.