Question-and-answer time
You might think that because my wife is a teacher and our household gets more than half of its annual income from USD 410, that we would be eager to jump on the bandwagon for the proposed $6.625 million facility improvement project. Or, that we'd be hesitant to criticize the project if we had doubts about it.
With this issue, the Star-Journal begins a series of articles designed to provide readers with information to help you make an informed vote at the special election June 5, when you're asked to consider whether or not the issuance of $6.625 million in general obligation bonds to fund four improvement projects is a good idea.
At this point, until our questions have been answered, we are undecided on the matter. Like the teachers said when we were in school, "Pay attention, because after show-and-tell, it's question-and-answer time."
If passed, the district will over the next several years, gradually increase its tax levy to a net gain of 4.835 mills through the issuance of general obligation bonds with a term of 20 years. Revenue for the annual bond payments will be generated from local property taxes and aid provided by the State of Kansas. In plain English, the owner of a $100,000 home will pay $55.60 in school taxes per year; farmers will pay $145.05 on every $100,000 worth of land they own, and businesses will pay $120.88 for each $100,000 worth of property.
School board president Rod Koons is confident the district can answer enough hard questions to convince a simple majority of voters think more about the children than their rising property tax bills. He says the projects represent the next step in the district's policy of making continual upgrades and improvements to its facilities, gradually, over time.
"We don't want to get to the point where we wake up one morning and all of a sudden everything is a wreck," he said. "Most voters are going to realize that you need to improve over time, or the day will come when you have to do a $15 million dollar bond issue. Making improvements every 10, 15, and 20 years keeps us ahead of the curve.
"We have a plan that has merit and values and will show the voters of USD 410 that we're committed to education and the facilities in the district," Koons said.
Of the problems the project would address, the problems at Hillsboro Elementary School seem to be the most obvious. Classroom space for expanded programs is not available. It is very likely that in the near future the State of Kansas will begin to require school districts to offer all-day Kindergarten. Without additional classroom space the district could be forced to increase class size in order to reduce the number of classrooms needed.
Movement of students and vehicles to and from this building presents many challenges. A combination of bus and auto traffic make it very difficult to provide a safe environment as students arrive to and leave from school. Parking for employees and visitors is limited and often requires vehicles to park along adjacent streets. Simply put, it's a dangerous situation, and it needs to be fixed.
There is similar rationale for all of the proposals. But even so, Koons is taking nothing for granted. The recent uproar over a proposal to increase sales tax to pay for a new Marion County jail is still fresh on his mind. No doubt the USD 410 project will draw the ire of Marion County Commissioners, who'll see that Hillsboro is once again using a double standard by being willing to spend money on its children, but not for housing out-of-county prisoners. But, oh, never mind.
Fact is, this project does offer more for our tax dollars than a for-profit jail scheme. And, as Koons says,"Everybody here is proud to be a resident of Hillsboro, and proud that their kids go to 410 schools."
Whether or not people are eager to spend more just to portray a good image, or to have people thinking, "Why can't we be like Hillsboro?" is open to debate.
Instead, the questions ought to start with: Can we afford to do this? And, can we afford not to?
School board members aren't allowed to campaign for the passage of this referendum, so it will rely on its architecture to market and promote the project, through public meetings and focus groups. Board members are allowed to answer questions, however. And patrons are encouraged to attend these events, to more fully understand the proposal and its cost to property owners.
Some questions for which we'll be seeking answers are: Is this a list of needs, a list of wants, or just a wish list? What makes a family with school-age children decide to relocate to a community? What is the relationship between the quality of education children receive and the facilities they inhabit in their 13 years of schooling? How much more taxes can we tolerate? Is this a square deal for farmers? Will businesses decide to relocate here if we build better school facilities for their workers' children, and tax them more, or will they go someplace else, where taxes aren't as high?
In other words, is this a smart investment or not?
At this point, we honestly don't know.
We hope you'll join us at the town meetings, to get your questions answered, before June 5.
— GRANT OVERSTAKE
