The Port Angeles School District is proposing a capital levy to tax voters $52,000,000 for new school facilities at Stevens Middle School.
This plan includes transferring all sixth-graders from elementary schools and to Stevens and building 18 new classrooms to accommodate them.
Their long-term plan is to tax an additional $382,000,000 over the next 27 years to replace other schools bringing a total of new taxes to $434 million, costing you approximately $524 per year or $14,148 over 27 years.
Consider the following:
Can you afford an extra $14,148 in taxes?
The school board has not presented any alternative plans for consideration.
There is no compelling reason to move sixth-graders to middle school.
The school board follows a rule at scheduled meetings that does not allow a school board member to respond to questions about policy.
That makes it difficult to have a dialog about important issues such as funding.
You may think that you are represented by the school board because they are elected to office.
But when the school board proposes this amount of taxation without having special meetings for community input they are no longer representing you.
For comparison, see the Nov. 11 PDN article “Levies mulled for Crescent Schools”.
The only way will get the school board to seek input on capital expenditure is to deny extravagant spending starting with this $52,000,000 capital levy.
Vote no on the capital levy.
Terry Trudel
Port Angeles