The page at the bottom of this post (click to enlarge) will be published as well as appear as a flyer in local newspapers this week. Please forward this blog link to anyone you think would be interested. Remember, the vote is this Tuesday, Jan. 22, noon - 9 PM at the MED Elementary School. The flyer is also shown below as text if you want to cut and paste and e-mail it.
You will have to vote on both proposals. Voting no on proposal 1 does not automatically cast a no vote on proposal 2. If you are against both, you must vote no to each individually.
EVERY VOTE WILL COUNT!! The Shenendehowa school district held a referendum in December. It passed by a vote of 1,549 yes votes to 1,526 no votes. 23 votes out of 3000+, so every vote can make a difference.
Here is the text of the flyer:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To the residents of the Chatham Central Schools District regarding the
Chatham Central Schools $35 million facilities improvement proposals
Despite the best intentions of the Board of Education and the time spent on developing the proposals, this plan is not logical for the following reasons:
· School taxes, already at a level that is driving out residents, will increase over the 15 year term of the bond issue that will finance the proposals. This is in addition to the current school taxes we pay every year to operate the district, and to which we can expect annual increases as we have seen in the past. It is important to note that the proposal amounts do not include the interest on the bonds, which must be added to the annual school budget.
· The Board’s own projections show enrollments declining between 22% and 40% over the next 10 years. The high school graduating class of 2000 had 116 students. The current kindergarten has 75!! The proposals are too ambitious for what is needed and affordable at this time, and approval makes no sense in light of these trends.
· The Board says that the cost of the bond per year to an individual taxpayer will remain fixed. However, it ignores the fact that if a taxpayer’s assessment is increased, their taxes will increase also. As we all know, increased assessments are a fact of life and if assessments increase an average of 5% a year, the tax impact of these proposals on an average homeowner will have doubled by the time the bond is repaid.
· Tomorrow’s taxes = today’s taxes + increase due to bond issue + increases due to lower state aid as a result of lower enrollments + increases due to rise in property values + increases in school budget due to inflation.
There is no question that there are many improvements needed in our facilities and that money must be spent to accomplish them and provide for academic development, but this proposal goes far beyond that scope by including many “nice to have” but unnecessary items.
In light of declining enrollments and the financial hardships that will be faced, the Board must come back with a plan which is affordable and meets the essential and critical needs of the district.
For more information, visit www.chathamny.blogspot.com or e-mail chathamny@gmail.com .
The vote is Jan. 22, 2008 12 – 9 PM at the MED
Vote NO to $25 million – Proposition 1
Vote NO to $10 million – Proposition 2
Chatham Central Schools $35 million facilities improvement proposals
Despite the best intentions of the Board of Education and the time spent on developing the proposals, this plan is not logical for the following reasons:
· School taxes, already at a level that is driving out residents, will increase over the 15 year term of the bond issue that will finance the proposals. This is in addition to the current school taxes we pay every year to operate the district, and to which we can expect annual increases as we have seen in the past. It is important to note that the proposal amounts do not include the interest on the bonds, which must be added to the annual school budget.
· The Board’s own projections show enrollments declining between 22% and 40% over the next 10 years. The high school graduating class of 2000 had 116 students. The current kindergarten has 75!! The proposals are too ambitious for what is needed and affordable at this time, and approval makes no sense in light of these trends.
· The Board says that the cost of the bond per year to an individual taxpayer will remain fixed. However, it ignores the fact that if a taxpayer’s assessment is increased, their taxes will increase also. As we all know, increased assessments are a fact of life and if assessments increase an average of 5% a year, the tax impact of these proposals on an average homeowner will have doubled by the time the bond is repaid.
· Tomorrow’s taxes = today’s taxes + increase due to bond issue + increases due to lower state aid as a result of lower enrollments + increases due to rise in property values + increases in school budget due to inflation.
There is no question that there are many improvements needed in our facilities and that money must be spent to accomplish them and provide for academic development, but this proposal goes far beyond that scope by including many “nice to have” but unnecessary items.
In light of declining enrollments and the financial hardships that will be faced, the Board must come back with a plan which is affordable and meets the essential and critical needs of the district.
For more information, visit www.chathamny.blogspot.com or e-mail chathamny@gmail.com .
The vote is Jan. 22, 2008 12 – 9 PM at the MED
Vote NO to $25 million – Proposition 1
Vote NO to $10 million – Proposition 2
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment