By Chris Butler
There are so many good deals in real estate today. The interest rates are the lowest in history. Yet no one is getting loans or buying those great deals. Most people don’t have the income to do that right now. Banks are requiring high qualifying standards. Gone are the days of the easy loan if you aren’t on solid financial footing, unless of course you are a school district.
Banks will loan just about any amount to them even if they are almost broke and the main source of their income has told them twice not to spend any more. Yes banks have fallen on hard times too.
Unable to make shady loans to consumers with doubtful resources any more, they are glad for the opportunity to fleece the taxpayers who are considered a solid risk because they are required by law to pay. When a bond or levy is passed it’s guaranteed that the bank will be paid back. Banks just love this kind of business and make this kind of loan whenever they get the chance.
What if the voters do not approve the levy? What would be the banks reaction to that? Do you think the bank would make another loan to the school district without voter approval? They probably wouldn’t. Wait you say, “What’s this about another loan?” The school asked for $35,000,000 and borrowed only $900,000. Did you really think they were done? They never said they were and because they are refusing to maintain the middle school buildings I’d say it is a safe bet they still plan on replacing them as soon as they get the chance, unless they can’t get a loan.
I attended a school board meeting where they discussed knocking down the buildings without voter approval and then daring the public not to approve whatever they ask to replace them. Of course if they have a good relationship with the bank they don’t need your approval anyway. If you vote yes for this proposal you will have shown the bank that you will back the school district no matter what and you will fall in line later just like this situation we have now. If we approve this levy now we are telling the bank to loan our school district any amount in the future and we will stand behind it.
Is that what you want? It’s like a blank check for the school district. Next time they will just write in any amount they want. If we say no to this levy what will happen? Will the school go into foreclosure? No, but will the bank make another loan to the school district? No, I don’t think they would.
So my recommendation is turn down this levy every time it comes up until we have a chance to pass a bond on the full amount the school district needs to repair the buildings and catch up on deferred maintenance. Do not give the school district a blank check to spend as much as they like.
One year’s repayment time is short for a $900,000 loan. The bank will be impressed and ready to do it again for even more money next time. The school district depends on these loans to balance their budget. By next year they will need another fund to raid so the state does not come in to dismiss the school board and take over the budgeting process.
This year they took $250,000 from the $900,000 loan we are considering and used it to cover last year’s expenses. Then they paid it back with this years funding which means by the end of this year they may be $250,000 in the hole or if they did as bad as last year they may be $500,000 short. As the school district goes deeper and deeper into the hole they become more and more dependent on bonds and levies to fund their everyday operation. Even though it is clearly stated that the funds cannot be used for anything other than capital projects somehow they end up in the general fund. An example is the $250,000 “loan” the school took from this capital project fund just a month or so ago.
What’s a school to do? Do they really have to raid these funds just to get by? How about budgeting? What about planning to operate on the funds that are provided? How about cutting back to a sustainable level of service based on the amount of income received. Everyone has to do it in this economy. The school needs to do it too. It is the responsible thing to do. Vote no on the school levy. Stop irresponsible borrowing. No blank checks. Make the school district accountable.
For more information about this and the kinds of problems schools all over the country are having go to thecartelmovie.com Also this excellent documentary is currently playing on HULU. I am not saying that our school is experiencing all the problems that are shown in the movie but we are having problems and they are shown in this in-depth report.
Chris Butler is an Orcas Island resident and author of the opposition statement to Orcas Island School District Proposition #1.
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Neither good real estate deals or what prompts banks to fleece taxpayers or suggesting an improper raiding of school funds has any bearing on what the Orcas School Board needs to do to educate and serve the island’s students. Such speculative discussion is simply smoke put up to distract, confuse, and lead voters astray. It is a common tactic of those opposed to some issue when being critical is so much easier than having responsibility to solve a problem. Chris Butler should get himself elected to the school board if he is truly concerned about educating kids. Providing adequate facilities and funding them is only a part of the job. The overriding issue is education and our local school does an amazing job of that as the many examples of successful local students shows.
Doug Pearson would give a blank check to the school district. Is that what you want to do? It’s true education is important it is also important to try to control costs. Currently this is not being done and if you pass this levy you will be encouraging the school district to spend more and with out gaining your permission first. Pardon me for daring to speak up without becoming a board member, no one should ever do that, wait a minute why do we have public board meetings?
Chris:
I am taking sides with Doug – because his ‘speaking’ is to the issue and not to ‘peripheral’ nonsense.
The school work that was done needed to be done – if you wish to argue the needed repairs, please do so.
More important is the simple financial benefit to our community to have a ‘GRANT’ of $ 900,000 provided to match what we islanders contribute.
Remind me where we can get a 100% return on our investment in six months?
Simple math and common sense says our School Board made the right decision!
If the HVAC system had been repaired instead of replaced we could have saved $600,000 which I made clear before the school district went ahead with their non-voted plan. But why do you want to rehash that? the real problem now is will the school district borrow more money without voter approval. they have not said they won’t. You obviously are pleased enough with them that you would give them a blank check. Why is there a bond process anyway? just let the school district raise our taxes as much as they like. After all you are happy with it the heck with every one who voted no twice.I am not advocating never paying back the money what I want is accountability from the school district and that means use the bond system for approval of any future funding. The only way to be assured that happens is to not give them access to any more non-voted debt until they complete that process. That means vote no until we know how much more they want.