Last updated on 2011.01.28
Following is the text of a letter I have submitted for publication to the Madison Daily Leader. The hyperlinks, alas, will not appear in the MDL version. Dear readers, I welcome your comments below.
I have read with interest the divergent opinions on the $16.98-million bond issue that finally comes to a free and fair public vote on February 1. As a graduate and former staff member of Madison High School, I am keenly aware of the need to renovate the building. Nearly all of the building's problems---the sink and kiln in the art room, lack of special ed space, substandard bathrooms, bad lighting, poorly ventilated locker rooms, awful auditorium---were problems when I was a student, athlete, artist, and actor at MHS 25 years ago.
Much as we need to update the high school, we also need to vote no on the current new gym and renovation plan on this Tuesday's ballot.
Governor Dennis Daugaard and Senator Russell Olson support cutting K-12 state aid 10%. That grim prospect should put a halt to any major local school budgeting decisions this winter, including our bond issue. The proposed cut for Madison Central alone is $552,000. That's more than the salary of all six district administrators, or more than a dozen teachers. Madison cannot and should not cut that much from its budget. If the Legislature passes the governor's cuts, we may need to triple our property tax opt-out just to maintain current staff and services.
Asking the community to swallow such an opt-out will be difficult. It will be nearly impossible if we prematurely commit to more than a million dollars a year of additional debt to pay for the new gym and high school renovation on Tuesday's ballot.
Now some people say that we can't mix those two issues. The new gym and high school renovation are capital outlay, while opt-out dollars to make up for lost state aid are general fund. But taxpayers don't have separate capital outlay and general fund compartments in their wallets: it's all one tax bill, and we can only afford so much.
We will not know how much local money we have to raise just to keep the school doors open until March 28, the final day of the Legislative session. Worthy as elements of the architects' initial building plan may be, we cannot responsibly approve any big bond issue until our Legislature and governor finalize the state budget.
The proposed $16.98-million new gym and renovation project was drafted last fall, in the days when candidate Daugaard told us there was no budget crisis. Hundreds of well-intentioned voters cast absentee ballots before Governor Daugaard proposed slashing the K-12 budget. That budget proposal has changed the game.
Let's give ourselves time to re-evaluate our spending priorities in the light of the "new norm" Pierre may establish for K-12 funding. Vote No on Tuesday, and come back this spring to have this conversation when we have a fuller picture of our budget situation.
If it's not too late to change, I'd recommend changing "bad lighting" to "poor lighting, and inadequate ventilation" just to avoid redundancy. I'd also recommend adding a "know" in the 6th paragraph.
Otherwise it seems like a well-written piece of persuasive lit. It'll be interesting to talk to my neighbors when our district considers its options. I know a lot of them are on fixed incomes, so there will be a lot to weigh before I vote.
[CAH: Thanks, Wayne! I'll keep the original wording, but I have added the missed "know." Good eye!]
Cory, the Governor's proposal is just that. It is a simplistic view of what he believes should happen. The reality of a two-party system, lobbyists, advisors and voters will weigh in and I'm guessing we end up with something much easier to handle and less disruptive when the final budget is approved by the Legislature and signed by the Governor.
The renovation project for Madison High School is not a proposal, it is a public plan. Three things could happen that will make this the best time to renovate and add on to our high school. Bond interest rates have never been lower which reduces our taxes. Competition among contractors has never been more fierce which could shave as much as 15% off current estimates which saves taxpayers money. Also, private money being raised will reduce the cost to taxpayers. Most people will pay less than $20 a month for the renovation and expansion. We will have a 21st Century learning environment if it passes on Tuesday.
Just a comment. Good letter, Cory! Most people really don't understand school funding. They think that this proposal is capital outlay somehow. It isn't! It is all coming as an additional tax on the property owners. None of it is coming out of capital outlay as that fund is already committed for 12 years just to pay off the elementary school. There is NO money in capital outlay for this project.
And Rod, I find your next to last statement, that most people will pay less than $20 a month for this new gym and renovation, to be the problem. This might be the fact for the majority of supporters. After all, if it isn't going to cost a person much, why not support it? Now that we can look up on the Lake County treasurer's site the amount of property taxes anyone pays, I have found that probably 99% of the letters to the editor in favor of this fit that category (no more than $20 a month). The problem is that the rest of the cost of this has to be made up by someone else, and that someone else is the rest of the taxpayers in Lake County who will pay FAR more than $20 a month.
Great letter Cory. I too am a big proponent in the wait and see what Pierre does first plan. Charlie Johnson also has made some great points, in the needs versus wants categories.
Rod-
Your point about contractors is only applicable to small jobs. All large firms that would be bondable for this size of project aren't hungry. There will be no discount on this project at this time.
Rod, portraying the governor's budget as merely a "simplistic proposal" while portraying the gym/renovation as a "public plan" is a specious comparison. The governor's budget is as public a plan as the school's building proposal. The governor's budget proposal is not at all like the Rounds lame-duck budget that everyone has forgotten. Daugaard's budget has riveted the state's attention and anchored the public discussion in Pierre about how much we're going to cut from education. Daugaard's budget has the support of the Senate Majority Leader Russell Olson (whose position on this local tax increase I'd love to hear).
The talk of how we must act now to take advantage of rates and prices that will never be lower are sounding more and more like high-pressure sales pitches that we'd get at Prostrollo's. Add to that the "no other option" thinking that the school has promoted with its tours and the early voting schemes to get people to sign on before the complete electoral discussion and before the state budget was issued, and I can't help but smell marketing and manipulation.
I'm also amused that now we're shifting to talking monthly cost rather than yearly, another well-known sales tactic. I guess we're all propagandists.
For the record, I'll pay $274 more per year.
Cory,
Are you saying that the tours were a bad idea?
What should the board have done instead of the current plan?
I've heard lots of comments about how the board went around the wishes of the voters years ago when the middle school was built funded by capital outlay certificates after bond issues were rejected.
Why would board members that were elected by the people put forth proposals only to have them voted down? This puzzles me for you would think that the views and values of the voters would be reflected in the people that they elect.
Giving tours of the school was the best idea to show off the high school to voters who would otherwise never set foot in the building. It's sad that more did not take the time as you did Cory. From the outside, the school still looks in great shape and the inside is the same as most of us remember it in high school.
I encourage everyone to get out and VOTE!
No, I'm not saying that, Michael. I don't think the building looks that great inside or outside. I want to make all sorts of renovations and changes.
But I don't want to lock us into this initial and enormously expensive proposal before we know what the full budget picture will be for the coming year. It is irresponsible to rush into this budget decision before we know how much state aid Olson and Daugaard will take from us. It is irresponsible (and almost illegal) for the school to use high-pressure sales tactics to manipulate voters into a hasty decision before the fiscal reality of the new state budget kick in. And it is irresponsible of voters to take the position that "Golly, the school board voted for it, so it must be a good idea."
For many people "NO" means no. Do not be surprised if the vote fails to gain the 60% needed also hardens the resolve of those against when another bond issue is proposed later on.
The last time a bond issue passed in the Madison Central School District was to build the current high school. That was just short of 50 years ago.
Michael, you're really grasping for diverse straws. A "No" now does not make it harder to get a "Yes" later. We voted three times on an opt out before it passed, indicting that a No the first couple times does not prevent a Yes the next time. Harrisburg had to vote more than once to get the right/building plan for the voters.
A Yes now makes it impossible to get a better plan later. A No now gives us the opportunity to have that conversation responsibly when we have the information about the state budget we need.
Cory, what happens if the voters approve the bond issue?
If this gets approved, I will give you one thing that will happen. The few who wrote letters to the editor in favor of this project will gladly pay their increased taxes, which for 90% of them or more amount to little or none (that's right, none!) per year. Those who carry the burden for this will once again pay the lion's share (and it's a big lion) for something that addresses wants more than needs.
I just have one question that hasn't been asked yet. This project is to cost $16.9 million. Is this locked in at these prices. Inflation is going strong. Will that figure, assuming this is passed, remain at that amount or will the company say they have to have more money based on the increased cost of gas (which raises the cost of everything we buy) and the rest of the inflation we now see?
Linda (nonnie), how can you say that 90% will pay little or none? The way our system works, whether you agree with it or not, is that those who own the most, pay the most. Those who own a two-bedroom home and nothing else, will pay less than $18 a month. Those who own a business or commercial property will pay more because the mil levy is highest on commercial property. Those who own 1000 acres of farmland worth $5 Million will pay more because they own more, but also enjoy the lowest mil levy since ag land is taxed at the lowest level. It is Property Tax, so if you own property, you pay. If you've taken the tour, you understand the need for renovations and moving the library, moving the offices for security reasons and the other upgrades. This is a perfect time with low bond interest rates, competitive contractors and favorable material costs. Looks like they already shaved another $1 Million off the taxpayer cost with donations and revising the bus barn.
Contractors will submit bids. They can add charges if there are unforeseen changes in the plan but they must be approved.
Rising inflation and higher interest rates would be reasons to remodel now rather than later. If it takes two or three years to get a bond issue passed, you might pay more than you will now and get far less which would be a bitter pill to swallow.
Hey Rod, since you have all of this wonderful experience to draw upon...
How long would it take and how much would it cost to redo the remodel plans into a new proposal for the public to vote on if this bond issue fails?
Would we be talking of losing a whole construction season?
You will have to ask Superintendent Schaefer or Business Manager Callies, but I'm guessing it would be a four to six month process with cutting back the current plan, advertising and setting another election date. Hopefully, voters adopt the recommended renovations that the current school board approved since we elected them to represent our student's best interests.
Rod/Michael -
A year ago the federal government was offer the first-time home buyer's tax credit. That, mixed with low interest rates, made it the "perfect time" for a first-time home buyer such as myself. However, when looking at the houses in my price range I didn't find a lot that I like or felt were right for me and just because it was the perfect time I wasn't going to increase my price range to a number I wasn't comfortable with.
It seems odd that you're wanting to drive home the fact that this is the perfect time to do this remodel job due to these outside factors. If someone isn't comfortable with the building plan or the price tag, I don't think pushing them into thinking now is the best time is going to win them over. I'd rather have you sell us that the building plan itself is right.
Michael, I'm not sure in what spirit you offer the question on what happens if the issue passes. If it passes, it passes, and we will find our backs against the wall when the budget cuts come (and I'm hearing more talk that 10% is not just a proposal but has the backing of big timber on Appropriations) and we have to wage a bigger opt-out or fire teachers... which is why I suspect the school board scheduled this vote for well before the completion of the state budget and pushed to get people to vote before the enormity of the governor's budget cuts sunk in.
Rod, I'm glad donations will cut some percentage off the price. We could cut an even larger percentage off by not wasting that money on a luxury gym and instead focusing on the immediate renovation needs. We need to wait, get the state budget, and then have a serious discussion about all priorities.
You know what might be a better idea. Let's go all out and make a real competition center with an indoor track, a pool under the gym floor for swimming classes, a new football field with accompanying accoutrement, plus a whole wing devoted to just fine arts and a library. If we're going to go around spending money we don't have we might as well get everything and worry about how to pay for it when the bills come due.
Or let's just build a whole new building with these plans, even with the remodel, the school will need upgrades in another 20 years. It's just a different bond issue.
Whether or not the governor had proposed the cuts to education this was still a bad time to ask people to put out more in taxes. That's part of the budget issue, and what Cory has pointed out, the state doesn't want any new taxes so pass the buck down and let them figure out how to pay for what they want/need.
Good points, Jim! Now keep that shovel handy so you can get out and vote Tuesday!