Klamath County School Bond Measure Frequently Asked Questions
Following are questions that have been posed regarding the Klamath County School District bond measure.
There are many questions about this bond measure, including how it will affect the taxes of property owners and why the Klamath County School District needs this bond measure at this time. Please read the following questions, and if you have more, send us an email at schoolspac@gmail.com.
We also have some documents you may find useful in your decision making process. You can access them by simply clicking the following links. The documents will appear in the browser you are using to view this website.
Citizens For Klamath County Schools PAC Fact Sheet – This one page download gives information about why the bond measure is needed, why it’s being pursued now, how the money will be used and information about the PAC itself.
Oregon Effective Tax Rates By County – This map of Oregon is color coded by county to show the effective tax rate for 2011-12, per $1,000 of RMV. You will see that Klamath County has one of the lowest tax rates and will remain in that category even with the passage of the bond measure.
Bond Measure Tax Table – This chart shows how the Klamath County School District bond measure will affect the taxes of property owners in Klamath County when the measure passes. Rates are based on assessed value, and broken down into the total tax per year as well as per month.
Why is this bond measure being proposed now?
Major building improvements and repairs have been needed across the Klamath County School District for a number of years. Voters turned down a much larger request for funding six years ago. The school district re-evaluated its needs, consulted with engineering experts, and brought the matter back before the school board in 2012. The board agreed that the matter should be put before voters again, but with a smaller price tag – less than half of what was sought before.
School officials hope that with a carefully reviewed list of projects, and with signs the local economy is beginning a gradual recovery, voters will look favorably on a modest tax measure.
How much will this bond cost homeowners?
The current proposal calls for a $31 million bond, to be retired by property taxes over the next 20 years. That will require a property tax rate of about 53 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. For the owner of a $100,000 home that would be $53 per year, or less than $5 per month.
For a more detailed look at how this will affect property taxes, download this helpful tax table.
Won’t this tax hurt businesses, including farmers and ranchers?
For most property owners, this bond measure will increase their overall tax burden by less than 1 percent.
How can we know the money will be used in the way it’s supposed to be?
By law, revenue generated by the sale of bonds can only be spent on capital construction projects. The school district will establish an oversight committee – made up of citizens not on the school board or in the district administration – to track progress on the list of proposed construction and renovation projects.
Couldn’t this expense have been avoided with proper maintenance of school facilities?
The cumulative effect of property tax limitations and cuts in state funding for education over the past several years has forced most school districts to defer as much maintenance as possible. And yet, even with the best of maintenance programs, buildings eventually need major repairs and updating. Some of our school buildings are 50 years old or more. As a result, some major repairs and improvements are now becoming urgent.
Can’t cuts be made in other areas of the school district budget to pay for repairs and improvements?
Several factors have combined to make it virtually impossible for local school districts in Oregon to invest in building improvements. Those factors include property tax limitations, growing health care costs, and new requirements for student programs. On top of all this, the ongoing recession has caused pubic employee pension costs to eat up a large portion of local school budgets. As a result, many school districts across Oregon are asking voters to support modest tax increases.
Much of this bond will go to construction of a new elementary school at Henley. Is it fair to ask voters throughout the district to bear this expense?
To be sure, building a new school is costly. But over the past several decades, all major expenses throughout the Klamath County School District have been shared by all taxpayers throughout the district. It has been about 40 years since the last new school was built, in Keno. Taxpayers throughout the county supported that project. Over time, the overall burden of maintaining school properties evens out across the county.
Why didn’t the school district use the Altamont or Fairhaven school buildings to accomodate Henley students?
Transporting students across town to make use of older buildings that have their own problems was not a realistic solution.
How did district administrators arrive at the cost estimates cited for the proposed projects? What happens if the projects end up costing more than expected?
The list of projects has been reviewed by engineers, architects and various specialists to arrive at the best estimates possible. It’s always possible that actual bids will come in higher than estimates. As always, the school board will work with administrators to prioritize projects that can be accomplished with a finite amount of funding.
Will local contractors be used to do the work that’s being proposed?
The school district is required to seek bids for all major projects, and to award each project to the lowest qualified bidder, regardless of where the firm is based. It’s likely that even if out-of-town companies submit low bids, they will hire some local tradesmen and subcontractors to do the work. At any rate, the construction and renovation projects being proposed will generate economic activity throughout the county.
Wouldn’t it be better to merge the city and county school districts before spending more money on buildings?
There is considerable support for merging the two districts, but there’s also determined opposition – especially in the city district. One reason for this opposition is a perception that county school buildings are in worse condition than city facilities. Whether or not that perception is accurate is a fair topic for dicussion. At any rate, improving facilities in the county district can only help dispel the perception.
