November 2, 2009

Sherman County votes on school bond

     Sherman County voters will decide Tuesday whether to approve an $11.25 million general obligation bond that would including consolidating all school activities in the county at a single Kindergarten through highschool campus in Moro.
     Proponents have said that Sherman County taxpayers will not have to pay increased taxes, that the bond would qualify for zero interest payments, and that anticipated funds from the county’s Strategic Investment Plan (SIP) would cover the cost of the debt repayment. After a series of public meetings in the county, they say, the board listened to objections, and reduced the initial $20 million plan by more than 44 percent, to $11.25 million.
     Opponents have noted that, though the current board of commissioners has voted to devote 20 percent of SIP revenue to the schools, commissioners cannot guarantee or bind future commissions to make the same decision, and that SIP revenues may not continue in the future. Those factors, say opponents, open the door to the possibility that the district will have to raise property taxes some time in the future to continue to make the bond payments.
     Other opponents said they did not like the concept of a single location for all school activities in the district, and preferred smaller local schools.