Missouri v. Jenkins

Background

In 1977 Kansas City students and the Kansas City, Missouri School District sued the State and nearby districts, and a federal trial court found segregation within the district. The District Court ordered an expensive desegregation plan with many magnet schools and major capital work, allocating much of the cost to the State and some to the local district. Missouri constitutional limits, the Hancock Amendment rollback, and Proposition C prevented the district from easily raising enough property tax revenue. After local votes and state action failed, the District Court raised the KCMSD property tax and ordered bond issues.

Reasoning

The central question was whether a federal court could directly raise local property taxes to fund a desegregation remedy. The Supreme Court avoided resolving difficult constitutional arguments and held that the District Court abused its discretion by imposing the tax itself because of principles of federal–state comity. The Court approved the Court of Appeals’ alternative, less intrusive method: require or authorize the school board to submit a levy to state tax authorities and enjoin state laws that would prevent the district from collecting adequate funds.

Real world impact

The decision bars federal judges from directly setting local tax rates and pushes courts to use “minimally obtrusive” remedies. Local school boards are to seek levies while courts may block state rules that would defeat court-ordered funding. The ruling does not settle every question about the scope or size of the desegregation remedy and the case was sent back for further proceedings.

Dissents or concurrances

Justice Kennedy, joined by three Justices, agreed with reversing the direct tax but strongly warned that the Court’s broader language risks expanding judicial power to tax and criticized the scale and character of the district’s remedy.