The Observation Deck

The economic fallout from the Coronavirus pandemic will be evident for years to come. Many Lakewood families are now in the position of living on one income, and some have lost their jobs. Sure, unemployment insurance may be available for some of these people, but it will take a long time to dig out of the hole that this has created.

I am making a BOLD recommendation - I think that the School Board and the City should scrap Issue 28 from the June primary. Let's see if the school board can live within their means since many Lakewood families are now having to cope with loss of household income. Can't the board just put this off for another year to give us time to recover?

We are all being asked to make due with the situation we are facing. Can't the Board of Education do the same?

Amy Martin wrote:The economic fallout from the Coronavirus pandemic will be evident for years to come. Many Lakewood families are now in the position of living on one income, and some have lost their jobs. Sure, unemployment insurance may be available for some of these people, but it will take a long time to dig out of the hole that this has created.

I am making a BOLD recommendation - I think that the School Board and the City should scrap Issue 28 from the June primary. Let's see if the school board can live within their means since many Lakewood families are now having to cope with loss of household income. Can't the board just put this off for another year to give us time to recover?

We are all being asked to make due with the situation we are facing. Can't the Board of Education do the same?

I think we should leave this up to the voters.

I can think of no better investment than our community's children....but yes, households will be strained by this crisis. With kids moving to remote learning, this time may be a long overdue opportunity to revisit the one size fits all (with slight variation) public model and explore hybrid/personalized education in Lakewood and possibly save money. Additionally, I'd like to see what we can do as a community to implement term limits for school board members to insure that we are bringing in fresh ideas/perspectives to better prepare our kids for the future.

Until we can assess the damage to our families, communities, states, nations and countries from Covid-19, any spending proposals initiated in the boom times pre-pandemic should be reconsidered.

If the pandemic goes on for months or longer, it will likely do severe damage to the finances of many local businesses and families. If shorter, we can all breathe a big sigh of relief.

Amy Martin wrote:I am making a BOLD recommendation - I think that the School Board and the City should scrap Issue 28 from the June primary.

I am not a lawyer, but I'm almost certain that this is not possible.
You cannot change a ballot in the middle of an election.
This will not be a "June Primary"....it will be the completion of the March 17 primary.
Many voters have already voted by mail or at the BOE....I don't see how it's legal to nullify those votes.

Amy Martin wrote:The economic fallout from the Coronavirus pandemic will be evident for years to come. Many Lakewood families are now in the position of living on one income, and some have lost their jobs. Sure, unemployment insurance may be available for some of these people, but it will take a long time to dig out of the hole that this has created.

I am making a BOLD recommendation - I think that the School Board and the City should scrap Issue 28 from the June primary. Let's see if the school board can live within their means since many Lakewood families are now having to cope with loss of household income. Can't the board just put this off for another year to give us time to recover?

We are all being asked to make due with the situation we are facing. Can't the Board of Education do the same?

Amy

I understand your thoughts. I do. But the fact is after this Lakewood Schools will need the money more than ever.

They will have to create a whole new way to tech students, and if they go online, those programs cost thousands and thousands per student.

The irony, is we may not need the buildings we just paid for. But the Levy will be desperately needed.

.

I'm just tired of the taxpayers being an ATM to the BOE. Why can't they live within their means like the rest of us have to? The economic impact of this pandemic MUST be shared by all.

Amy Martin wrote:I'm just tired of the taxpayers being an ATM to the BOE. Why can't they live within their means like the rest of us have to? The economic impact of this pandemic MUST be shared by all.

Hi Amy, then please exercise your right and don't vote for it.

There are many reasons why a strong school system benefits the community as a whole. The BOE went as long as possible to not have a levy. It has been over seven years since we had any request for more funds. Funds are also split between operating expense and new facilities. This is a majority operating expense one and has to do with rising cost of living and other expenses that have risen. In addition, there are state and federal mandates that require a certain number of items (i.e. teachers per student, special ed requirements) that are requiring this increase.

Of course the pandemic cost has to be shared by all, but that also includes all of us (Lakewood taxpayers) to help the schools.

Again, if you are opposed, it is definitely your right not to vote for it. I think you are wrong in your thinking but appreciate your thoughts all the same.

Amy---I agree that this pandemic has changed many outlooks for governmental units. This levy was placed on the ballot by the Board with data and subsequent deliberations before this incident. But, I think the aftermath conditions will continue and that this levy will enable our Schools to meet those challenges.
I still have the "Vote for the Levy" sign on my front lawn!
Stan Austin

If Covid-19 resolves quickly, we can all go back to arguing about high taxes and school board transparency. If it doesn't, it will be such a health and economic catastrophe that this discussion will seem silly. For the record, I've already voted against 28 because of the transparency issue, not the taxes.

Dan Alaimo wrote:If Covid-19 resolves quickly, we can all go back to arguing about high taxes and school board transparency. If it doesn't, it will be such a health and economic catastrophe that this discussion will seem silly. For the record, I've already voted against 28 because of the transparency issue, not the taxes.

Cool move, Dan.
If you prevail, the kids, already stressed out, their very world under threat, could see diminished services and educational opportunities. And you'll have the satisfaction of "being right."

cmager wrote:

Dan Alaimo wrote:If Covid-19 resolves quickly, we can all go back to arguing about high taxes and school board transparency. If it doesn't, it will be such a health and economic catastrophe that this discussion will seem silly. For the record, I've already voted against 28 because of the transparency issue, not the taxes.

Cool move, Dan.
If you prevail, the kids, already stressed out, their very world under threat, could see diminished services and educational opportunities. And you'll have the satisfaction of "being right."

Don’t dump this on Dan. He’s certainly not going to be the only resident voting against the levy.

Perhaps the elected school board should take the blame for creating that sense of distrust with their actions the last few years.

Everything will be very different by the time this is over. We should be doing everything we csn to mitigate the damage.

Additional thought re the Issue 28 monies: if they were directed toward remote learning and helping students recover academically from any deficits caused by Covid-19 related absences, it would help me feel better about this school board.

Don’t feel bad Dan. Property taxes are out of control. I’ve argued before that 3% property taxes in a 1% interest rate environment destroys home values, particularly at the higher end. Have you seen what 3-month Treasuries are paying right now? They’ve finally gone negative! You pay the Treasury for holding your money for three months. The ten-year is at an all-time low, around 0.75%. If financial assets (stocks/bonds) were levied a 3% tax every year they would become immediately worthless. The only reason homes withstand a 3% annual looting is because homes make it possible to live somewhere comfortable. Not under a bridge.

Given what has happened to the price (value) of financial assets lately, and the number of people losing jobs, it will be interesting to see what happens to residential real estate during this spring selling season. With or without the burden of added property taxes. I don’t think it will be pretty. Applications for first mortgages are down to 2009 levels. In fact Zillow is in the process of reneging on all its “instant offers” for homes it has under contract (click here). They’d rather pay you $5000 than go through with the purchase. And they’re pretty much forcing you to take it.

As to your comment about remote learning, it will also be interesting to see if/how that catches on and goes mainstream. I wouldn’t want to be counting on a small, private liberal arts college for my livelihood these days. They were kind of struggling before this thing hit. Now people are figuring out you can get an equivalent education online for a tenth the cost. Though I don’t think remote learning will impact K-12 much. Government schools exist in part to give both parents eight hours of free time every business day. The Daily Bell had an interesting article on how COVID-19 might impact government schooling (click here). Check it out.