Is a $39.89 million Tax Neutral Bond the "Right" Number?

Stronger Together:

The seven trustees on the Board of Education voted to put a $39.89 million bond on the ballot for the community to vote on this Tuesday. One factor that went into that decision was choosing projects our schools need in a way that let us replace debt that is retiring with new debt so that this expense remained level and would not impact the tax levy.

The district could have proposed a bond at a significantly higher level. We have millions more in repairs and upgrades on our building surveys. We have half a million square feet in our buildings to maintain plus more than 50 acres we maintain for our students and community.

Likewise, we could have tried to defer more work. However, since so much work is needed, it doesn't disappear. It stays on the list of things we need.  The costs can then escalate. We could face expensive emergency repairs. If too much work is deferred, then down the road, we face the situation of choosing between raising taxes or living with dilapidated buildings - a reality for many districts.

Most importantly, there is power in our numbers - something our community has long realized in their support for our schools. Collectively, at this moment due to the debt schedules, we can invest $39.89 million in our students without creating a new expense.  If we don't? Do we all enjoy a tax cut if this debt drops out of our budget?

In that instance, the impact on the budget would translate to a typical house getting a tax cut of about $150 for the year.

We are stronger together.

Most people see projects in the bond that they feel are more important than other parts. The hard part with a community decision is that everyone has a different opinion about which parts should stay or go. Here we are stronger together as well. Many people played a part in structuring the bond so that we could face specific capacity issues, infrastructure issues, security concerns, and learning needs. The projects here were also designed so that they could be grouped, bid and completed in a way that would be cost-effective and efficient in and of themselves but also in conjunction with projects in the capital reserve funds and those in the budget. The bond has to take into account wide-ranging state regulations and processes as well.

The complexity is significant -- yet another reason why the district offered so many bond forums and tours.

The bond will be a living, developing project, if passed, for the next several years. The estimates have to take into account a number of contingencies that can impact our cost. No one wants to vote for a bond and then discover the cost can't possible cover the projects. Likewise, because so many people will be working throughout the process on managing costs, we may find we can do more than we hoped and there are 'supplemental' projects we can hope to accomplish. "Supplemental" makes these projects sound like something we don't need. That is not the case. They just did not rise to the level of the first $39.89 million.

Many things may change over the next few years. The bond can only fund those projects specifically listed. Nonetheless, it gives the district more flexibility in getting this work done, and we will also be able to adjust the timing of elements as needed. The only goal is the education of our students and the value of our schools to this community.

I'll throw in some interesting research as well. This article on school infrastructure investments notes both the billions in deferred investments needed for our country's schools to reach "good" conditions AND the positive effects on student achievement from these investments.