Issue 4 - what is the real cost?

Joe Ott · Post by **Joe Ott** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 7:51 pm

Jay Foran wrote:A few facts:

The new facilities are being constructed to improve teaching and learning!
* New facilities will provide modern classrooms and technologies for both students and staff.
* School buildings will be more safe and secure and a healthier environment in which to learn.
* Consolidating the number of schools to align with overall enrollment permits the district to operate more efficiently....allowing more money to be funneled directly into education instead of new boilers.
* Fewer buildings and modern classrooms permit the district to better manage class size to align with targets (22 for K and Grade 1 and 25 thereafter)
* The building plan insures that every student across the district will have equal opportunity/access to programming.

Property values are directly related to the strength of the school system. Due to effective financial planning, the cost per month per $100,000 of home valuation is $1.02 (less than a bottle of water). In exchange, Lakewood can convert and renovate Horace Mann and Emerson into state of the art elementary schools, modernize classrooms for 1/2 half of the high school providing much-needed science labs and vocational facilities. This represents a significant educational value.
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The above quote is from a few weeks ago when everyone was going back and forth on the pros' and cons of issue 4. The beginning of that quote states "A few Facts". I believed them.

$1.02? Every time the people who are for an increase give a figure it seems to always be a tad low... In todays PD they are showing an increase of $58. I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but 58 divided by 12 = 4.83, right? That's $4.83 per month.

Anybody have any idea as to the real costs?

Joe

DougHuntingdon · Post by **DougHuntingdon** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 9:46 pm

Is it an additional $1.02 if your house is worth ten thousand dollars? or $100,000? I'm not a real estate agent, but I don't know of even a dump in Lakewood going for even close to $100,000.

Whether it is good or bad, I think issue 4 will pass easily, because I see it being promoted everywhere (even on the insect website) in a very sappy manner. People fall for stuff like that. Just yesterday me and my neighbors got snail mail spammed with colorful issue 4 propaganda brochures. It's for the children, for the future, and it costs a penny a day, so there is no way you can vote against it, etc. Remember--students can not learn in a classroom surrounded by old bricks.

Doug

Jay Foran · Post by **Jay Foran** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 12:18 am

The net effective increase is $1.02 per month per $100,000 of home valuation.

While the millage is 1.9 mills, 1.5 mills will be retired on the same timing, thus making the net effective increase only .4 mills or $1.02 per month per $100,000 of home valuation.

By law the issue must be stated on the ballot at the 1.9 mill rate. Sound financial management by the school district has led to the reduction of 1.5 mills and the .4 net effective increase possible.

Joe Ott · Post by **Joe Ott** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 6:08 pm

DougHuntingdon wrote:Is it an additional $1.02 if your house is worth ten thousand dollars? or $100,000? I'm not a real estate agent, but I don't know of even a dump in Lakewood going for even close to $100,000.

Doug do a search on our zip code at realtor.com. I was surprised at some of the houses under $100,000.

Thanks Jay for the reply. I understand your explanation but the PD specifically shows a current tax of $1385 and $1443 if approved resulting in a $58 increase for a property valued at $100,000.

Joe

Jeff Endress · Post by **Jeff Endress** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 6:14 pm

Joe
Apparently the writers at the PD aren't able or willing to "net" the increase as against the bond that is being retired. But, then again, it is the PD.
Jeff

DougHuntingdon · Post by **DougHuntingdon** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 7:18 pm

Take out the condos and there are only 60. I stand behind my comments

Jeff Endress · Post by **Jeff Endress** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 7:55 pm

Doug

I think the use of 100K is just for simplicity of illustration. It makes it easy to figure out your own particular costs. 150K would result in 1.53.....200K 2.04....and so forth.

Jeff

Ivor Karabatkovic · Post by **Ivor Karabatkovic** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 7:56 pm

just because the PD said it doesn't make it true.

just because any news source said anything doesn't make what they said true. They could've done calculations on a house on lake that's worth over $250,000..

people get things wrong all the time. Then they print it in a small black and white paragraph on page X next to the story that no one reads anyway.

just part of the way things go..

anyway, I'd vote for it. even if it's an extra $58 a year. I'd rather give generations to come great buildings filled with resources for $58 than take myself and a date out to dinner at players.

FWIW

Mike Deneen · Post by **Mike Deneen** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 8:31 pm

The PD makes plenty of mistakes, but not here.

I believe the PD and the Issue 4 folks are both correct.

Jay is correct that it's $1 more per month compared to what we pay now.
However, if it does not pass, our taxes would go a three dollars per month, so the PD is correct, too.

I am in favor of the issue....it is a great value.

Justine Cooper · Post by **Justine Cooper** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 8:34 pm

Doug,
I just came from a neighborhood meeting with our council woman, MLM, and it is important to also remember that we will not get the 43 million from the state if this doesn't pass! Not passing it could hurt Lakewood far worse than anything else right now!

And I don't think it was about just brick buildings. The Harrison building had a bathroom on the other side of the school! It sounds like the whole school was a nightmare. Plus I was very happy to hear, the security is solid compared to other schools! Instead of waltzing in and having access to the whole school, you have to get buzzed in one area, then get past there! It sounds like the envy of every school in terms of safety! In light of the school shootings, that alone would win my vote! I hate the taxes here too, but this one has to pass for many reasons. For every child, for every homeowner, for the community to move forward.

DougHuntingdon · Post by **DougHuntingdon** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 8:57 pm

I don't hate, and I'm not necessarily against issue 4. I am glad to hear some of the emphasis is being used on things besides new bricks. Facilities (not in a new brick kind of way), teachers, computers, programs, and most of all home life are determining factors in the quality of education. New bricks just give everyone a fuzzy feeling inside. I was just stating that I feel it will pass easily because of the marketing used, but I could be wrong.

Doug

Justine Cooper · Post by **Justine Cooper** » Tue May 01, 2007 7:16 am

I hope you are right but we won't know until voting day! Another impressive addition was the fact that the new schools Harrison and Hayes are offering full day Kindergarten! I was shocked and very impressed! Many of these kids can benefit immensely from that and we all know Lakewood has to keep their numbers up for education, since the No Child Left Behind has hurt the city!

I heard someone complain that they built one of the new schools on the far East side. Talk about snobbery in our own city. They strategically built one on the far east and one on the far west so that there would NOT be a division in our own city! The fact that the city and schools care enough to keep building on the East side of Lakewood shows a lot. But that security feature made me feel that much safer all night. I am really looking forward to my kids attending one of the new schools!

As the economy continues to go down people will see Lakewood more attractive with affordable homes and beautiful state of the art schools.

Joe Ott · Post by **Joe Ott** » Tue May 01, 2007 7:23 am

Thanks for the replies. I understand the math - pretty simple. This wasn't a for or against issue 4 post. I was just trying to get through the bs to try and figure it out.

It seems like there's always two camps on these school issues:
1- you always have the pro school people running around with their pom poms cheerleading the world will end and our city will become a 3 world slum if it doesn't pass, and
2- the nay sayers saying everything is bull and the truth is not being told.
Just trying to sift through it all.

Wait, I guess there's a third. The people who listen to both camps and try to figure out what what they think is best. People who try to see through the, um, marketing...

Justine Cooper wrote:Not passing it could hurt Lakewood far worse than anything else right now!

"Worse than anything"? I think there are far bigger issues in this city. But that's way off topic of my original post.

Thanks for the info.
Joe

Justine Cooper · Post by **Justine Cooper** » Tue May 01, 2007 7:33 am

There are big issues, but we need good solid things like new schools to counter them. Then we should also start working on the other issues, I agree!!! Thank you for your inquiry and I love learning what is behind the marketing!