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Belmont Redwood Shores School District $48,000,000 Bond Issue: Measure I
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Argument Against the Belmont Redwood Shores School District $48,000,000 Bond Issue: Measure I
Measure I, will saddle the District with new debt that must be serviced. To service the new debt and pay it back, the District has to divert existing revenues used to provide education services or force all property owners in the district pay additional property taxes. And servicing the debt is really expensive. 3% interest on $48,000,000 bond means paying $1,440,000 in annual interest for 25-30 years. The total cost of the bond measure in today's dollars is $84,000,000 if serviced at 3% and paid back after 25 years.
The District wants $48,000,000 to have “up-to-date computers and technology”.
Would you take out a 25 year loan to buy a computer that’s going to be obsolete in 3-5years? No? Nuts right? But, that is the District’s plan.
They used the same reasoning (technology) in 2010 to pass a $35,000,000 bond issue. That technology, hopefully, has been recycled already, but you are still paying for it and will be for years and years.
Part of that same 2010 bond was to “repairing aging schools” and to fix “leaking roofs”.
Now, just 4 years later, they want to “repair and maintain aging roofs”. Again?
What happened to that $35,000,000? Was construction so faulty that all of that work must be done over again just 4 years later? Did students destroy entire schools? Or was it just poor execution?
School bonds, like mortgages, have to be paid back, in full, plus interest. These interest payments don’t go to teachers, libraries, computers, or maintenance, etc.; they just go to service the debt.
Is this the best use of your tax dollars? At some point, enough is enough!
If you disagree, please vote NO on Measure I.
You can be for schools, for students, and against Measure I.