— from Hilary Canty —
I hope you will join me to vote Yes for both the bond and levy for the school district. Investing in our schools is a solid investment in the future of the island community. The current leadership at the school district is strong and thoughtful.
The school board has done a great job of identifying and prioritizing maintenance and improvements and the superintendent has proven to know how to get the work done. Our vote is the support they need to make their plans reality and to keep our schools a great place to learn and grow.
I am looking forward to cheering on future Vikings as they run laps, kick a soccer ball, toss a football, and hit a homer on the renewed fields. GO BLUE!
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The ballots are here. In recent weeks I’ve read letters, articles, a post card and election material contributing to my “informed consent” for upcoming issues. There’s been a great deal of comment on needs and benefits, but little on overall cost. Briefly, the legislature increased our state levy to $2.79 per $1000 for “education” (McCleary). Last year it was $2.12 from which an increase of $0.67 can be inferred. The school district wants an additional $0.11 for athletic fields and $0.29 for repairs and improvements. And another group wants $0.75 for a hospital district. Total tax increase if all measures pass: $1.82 per $1000 of assessed value.
According to Zillow the median Eastsound home value is $454,300 so we’re looking at a tax increase of $827.00 a year. Put another way median housing costs will increase by $68.00 a month that must be paid as a direct tax, or indirectly through increased rents further impacting housing affordability. This year on the mainland license tab fees shot up to support voter approved transit expansion – people are outraged and demanding a do-over. So each of us needs to clearly understand the cost consequences, cast “informed” votes, accept the tabulated results as our community’s consensus, pay the bill and move on without a do-over.
I wanted to address the comments made by Philip Peterson, regarding the tax changes that are being proposed, and to correct some of the basic math.
While it is true that the state tax levy will be increasing, in the next school year there will also be state-mandated decreases to our local school M&O (maintenance and operations) levies. Those decreases, over which our community has no control, have the potential to significantly impact our school programs, if we do not prepare proactively.
The state levy is increasing to $2.70 per thousand dollars of assessed value, not $2.79. This puts the state increase at 58 cents per 1000.
The two school measures – a construction bond and a Capital Projects levy – are estimated to add 29 cents and 11 cents, respectively, a total of 40 cents per thousand. This brings the total of the state and local increase to 98 cents, or about $440 per year in new taxes on a property valued at $450,000 – approximately $36.75 per month.
There is currently no measure on the ballot for a hospital district and we can’t know what measures may or may not be proposed in the future. While I think it is good advice for each of us to understand, as fully and accurately as possible, the real impact of the decisions that we are currently being asked to make, I believe those decisions should be based on real data, not assumptions.
I am happy to provide further information to interested community members about the projected future costs of our school measures – both the current bond and levy requests and the coming legislated reductions to our levy capacity.
Thanks Keith, my assumptions were based on the October 16 Orcas Issues report on the increased state levy which was unclear (at least for me) on modifiers, so your clarifications are much needed input!
In addition I addressed the full range of current tax proposals including the hospital district that is on Tuesday’s council agenda for addition to the April ballot. Passage of this measure will authorize an additional $0.75 per thousand or $28.13 per month, that cannot be ignored. When added to the $36.75 you cite we will need to come up with an additional $64.88 per month for that $450,000 property – $3.00 less than I calculated.
My point is that over the next six months it appears likely that we will see substantial increases in taxes impacting many facets of our economy, most notable housing affordability. For those of us on fixed incomes we may be talking about a weeks groceries each month. A friend of mine who lives in Rosario and owns a commercial building in town expects to see a combined increase of over $4,000 a year.
Typically we receive consolidated tax bills, it’s the totality of the thing that we must budget for, sacrifice for and pay for. Nonetheless understanding nuance is a useful contribution to our informed consent, so once again thank you for your insight!
Philip, The property tax rate in San Juan County is the lowest of any county in Washington State. If the bond, levy, and hospital taxing district all pass, we would still have the lowest rate. Access to medical care and quality public education are critical to maintaining the health of the community.
Thank You Hilary, and understood – San Juan County ranks at the top when it comes to getting the most bang for our buck. That’s something to be proud of so lets keep up the good work!
You are correct and I agree that a sound education and quality medical care are key elements to a productive and rewarding life. But so are affordable housing and affordable groceries. Somewhere in all of this sacrifices will have to be made by most of us and we need to understand that up front.
The curve ball we face was thrown by the state legislature, not local folks, but EHB 2242 will impact all of us, so prudence requires us to assess the full range of costs / benefits that we face, understand their ramifications as individuals and as a community and cast informed votes. I’ve advocated nothing beyond that.
Disappointingly costs appear to be a third rail that no one, including our newsletters, want to talk openly about. Not a good approach, so we’ll just have to see how it plays out down the road when the bills come due.
My sincere thanks again to you, and all who advocate for our children, also to those who labor for quality medical care on our island. Lets hope that we can achieve those goals as cost effectively as possible!