[ad_1]
Spokane Public Schools is asking voters to place a levy and bond on their February ballots as part of a decades-long cycle to maintain 57 facilities that serve more than 29,000 students. .
In the package, which includes state matching funds and carryover funds from previous bonds and interest, 10 schools are considered major projects under the bond plan, with district-wide improvements and safety and technology also under the proposal.
“With 57 buildings, we are playing the long game and identifying the spaces that are most needed,” Superintendent Adam Swinyard said in a December interview. “Costs continue to escalate, so now is the most cost-effective time to renovate.”
Among the oldest buildings in the district, Adams Elementary School and Madison Elementary School will be replaced. North Central High School, which was updated with past bonds, will be further modernized. Middle schools Chase and Garry will be upgraded, and option schools Libby Center and Spokane Public Montessori will be renovated. Foreshadowing future bond proposals, the bond would pay for renovation designs for community schools along with Balboa Elementary School and Indian Trail Elementary School.
The levy would authorize the collection of $297 million over three years at an estimated tax rate of $2.50 per $1,000 of property value, and would continue to cover all extracurriculars, small class supplements, and state-paid taxes. There will be support for other aspects of the school. for.
The district has generally sought bond issues every six years since 2003, according to data from the Spokane County Treasurer’s Office. The district’s taxpayers still owe about $616 million from bonds approved by voters in 2009 and 2018, according to Spokane County Treasurer’s Office data.
The district has historically been successful in passing tax renewals, reaching the simple majority needed to pass a levy and the 60% needed to pass a bond.
Previous bonds have paid for major renovations to 29 of the district’s 57 buildings since 2003, including new or replaced facilities such as ONE Spokane Stadium and Sacajawea Middle School. It is.
“Since 2003, our community has believed in this steady work as a model for creating schools where children go to school and say, “This is a great place to learn.” said Mr Swinyard.
For those who own property within the Spokane School District, district taxes account for 39% of a property owner’s 2023 tax bill. When you add in taxes collected by the state for schools, 61% of property taxes go to schools in the form of voted and non-voted levies.
If the ballot proposal passes, future tax rates for local schools are expected to be approximately $3.86 per $1,000 of property value over the three years of the levy period, increasing by a few cents each year.
“The amount we pay out of pocket for public education will stabilize,” Swinyard said.
In 2024, school districts will collect an estimated $3.82 per $1,000 of assessed property value. The average price of real estate in this area is approximately $370,000. Using this number, the average Spokane public school homeowner will pay her $1,413 to local schools this year. If the bond and levy passes, the average property owner is expected to pay only about $64 more next year, as some old bond debt will be paid off.
Even as property values rise across the district, the amount each homeowner pays doesn’t necessarily increase in tandem. Districts are limited in how much money they can collect on their ballots, with the levy amounting to $297 million over three years and the bond cost amounting to $200 million over 20 years.
Some balk at the nearly $500 million tax demand. Natalie Paulson, who along with former school board candidate Erica Larca wrote a statement “no” to the proposal in a voter pamphlet, said the tax is too much of a burden on families during an already economically turbulent time. said.
“Raising taxes this high at a time when it’s hard to pay for groceries, gas, insurance, and everything else is so expensive doesn’t necessarily support children, teachers, and people in the community as a whole. “It’s not necessarily going to help people,” Paulson said.
Paulson is a former teacher in the district who publicly opposed mask and vaccine mandates and was fired and kicked out of school for refusing to wear a mask at work. She ran unsuccessfully for the state House of Representatives in 2002.
Additionally, opponents argue that about 47% of students meet state standardized test scores in English, over 35% in math and 39% in science, meaning taxpayers are not paying for their education. There is. School districts should focus more on improving academic success than on the aspects to which levy funds are directed, such as school safety or mental and physical health centers.
“Our kids are failing. Maybe all these extra things we’re putting into our schools aren’t benefiting them,” Paulson said. Ta.
“Are we really doing our children any good by leaving them with this astronomical debt?”
Jeremy Shea, president of the Spokane Education Association, the union that represents most of the district’s workers, said the levy money will be used to keep schools running as usual, including sports, the arts, some nurses, support staff and additional teachers. He said that he is contributing to the “necessities” needed to continue to do so. .
“Without that, school would be very different,” Shay said.
Shea said the teachers union has always supported passing levies and bonds.
“Even if we say no to this bond, we still need to replace Adams,” Shea said. “We have to do that, we have to do these remaining projects and additional projects on the next bond, and it’s going to cost more than saying we do it now.”
[ad_2]
Source link
