On Tuesday, February 8, 2011, voters in the Pequot Lakes School District have an exceptional opportunity to help promote quality public education. At no time in recent memory have low financing rates and reasonable construction costs created such a favorable time to repair and improve the district's facilities. But forget low interest rates and rock-bottom building costs for a moment. Here are the main reasons to proceed: our physical plants desperately need repair, and our students are being packed into spaces that were not designed as classrooms and that do not meet today's teaching and learning needs.
The facts are straightforward. If the capital bond referendum passes, the expected tax increase will be $23 per year on a house with a taxable value of $100,000. If the referendum fails, the school board may have to use its contingent levy authority to make necessary repairs (main campus roof, boiler, etc.) and to implement stopgap measures to meet the immediate classroom needs. So taxes could still rise up to $17 per year on a house valued at $100,000. If the referendum passes, a slightly higher tax will be approved, that is true. But this increase will result in substantially "more bang for the buck" because the capital bond is subject to much more favorable interest rates.
Make no mistake, property taxes are likely to increase, one way or another. Nobody wants to pay more if we can avoid it. But we have an opportunity and an obligation to repair critical infrastructure while expanding and improving our current facilities to meet the pressing increase in student enrollment. If you compare the cost of a capital bond levy versus the alternative emergency levy, voting "Yes" on February 8 makes the most sense.
Jonathan Yahn
Rural Pequot Lakes
Comments (3)
Add commentThis was an excellent letter,
This was an excellent letter, Mr. Yahn.
For those questioing the needs of the referendum, have you actually visited the schools? Have you seen the disrepair of the high school and space limitations of the elementary?
Really, what you are talking about is the cost of a case of pop per year (on $100,000 prop values) for a major renovation, seeing as how the district has overly hinted it will be forced to raise levies for general repair stuff.
But if you prefer crumbling infrastructure and inadequete classroom setups, than enjoy that extra case of beer you will be able to have each year.
Response to barnet69's comment
Barnet69, the elementary school building is not 'shot.' It is overcrowded. The school was built for 28 classrooms. The school board at the time wanted the building to have more classrooms for each grade, but voters at the time wanted the school to be smaller. So it was built for 28 classrooms and currently has 32 rooms being used as classroom space. This means that the school has had to repurpose 4 rooms into classroom space. These 4 rooms were the media room, the science room, one of the 2 computer labs, and one of the 2 music rooms. The school board already knows that for next school year there are approximately 160 children in the area who are eligible to enroll for kindergarten at Eagle View. If next year's kindergarten class size is large, next year the school is likely to lose the art room and the 1 music room they now still have. This referendum needs to pass NOW so that more space can be added to accommodate all of the students and so that the high school/middle school building can be repaired.