Door-to-Door Instruction

By Barrett Seaman

Persuading voters to cough up more taxes is never easy. Last fall, when TIME visited Webster Groves High School in suburban St. Louis, Mo., for a special report, "A Week in the Life of a High School" (Oct. 25, 1999), school officials were anxiously plotting to put a tax increase and a new $10 million bond levy before the town's voters this spring. Altogether, the two measures, earmarked to pay for building repairs and a teacher-salary hike, would add $290 to the annual tax bill of a $144,000 home. Last month both issues passed--58% approved the tax increase, and 62% voted yes on the new bonds (which, under Missouri law, require a supermajority of 57.1% to pass). In a year when education issues have been made a top priority by both presidential candidates, Webster Groves is the only school district in the St. Louis metropolitan area to have won approval for a school tax and a bond issue on the first try.

Key to the success, according to local officials, was the active support of Webster Groves' 292 teachers, many of whom helped in the canvassing effort on behalf of a tax that would add 8% to their average $42,400 annual paycheck. Starting at 8 a.m. for four consecutive Saturdays in March, the teachers and other school supporters went door to door throughout Webster Groves. Says Cathy Vespereny, a spokeswoman for the district: "Having a teacher show up at your door had a big impact."

--By Barrett Seaman