SCHOOL BOND

Dear friends and neighbors of the Royal Slope, I have followed with interest the discussion surrounding the upcoming bond for the Royal School District.

As with most matters of importance, there are valid and strong opinions on both sides of the issue. This is healthy and good. But I feel compelled to clarify what I see as inaccurate information that has been presented in the public forum during recent weeks.

It has been stated that if the bond were to pass, our taxes would be assessed on the market value of agricultural land on the Royal Slope, projected at $10,000 per acre. This is simply not true. Based on information from the Grant County Assessors website, the seventy-two acres of land where we live has a taxable current use value of $948 per acre.

I have reviewed the records of numerous parcels of property throughout the Slope, and the taxable current use value of all agricultural property was almost always around $1,000 per acre. However, improvements made to any property are taxed at the market assessed valuation. Property taxes, although unpleasant, were never designed to be so burdensome that they would force us out of our homes or off of our farms.

Additionally, some voters have stated to me that they intended to vote against the bond because they don't agree with some of the decisions of the school board and administrators; or they had concerns with changes in curriculum or there is too much emphasis on sports, or any number of other issues.

These may be valid concerns but, in my opinion, voting against adequate housing for our students is not the right way to address these issues.

The only thing this vote on Feb. 12. will decide is how we house our students. If history is an accurate indicator of the future growth, we can expect to gain an additional 30 students a year for the foreseeable future.

A yes vote will mean that adequate, modest, brick and mortar buildings will be built to house our growing student population. A no vote will leave the school board to figure out how to finance additional educational facilities, most likely through more portables. But make no mistake about it, either way, the need to house an additional 30 students a year will continue to exist.

Lastly, the responsibility to provide adequate school facilities for our children is a community effort. Those of us who are older might have a tendency to say that our children and grandchildren are already grown, and that we have nothing to gain by voting to approve bonds and levies.

However, keep in mind that when our children were in school, and the bonds and levies were passing, those without children in school were helping to build all of the beautiful buildings you see on our campus - one of the finest campuses in the state.

I urge you to join me in voting yes for the upcoming bond on Feb. 12.

Ted Christensen

Royal City