Election Date: June 7, 2016

Franklin-McKinley School District $67,400,000 BOND Measure H – Argument Against

In 2008, voters in Franklin-McKinley School District approved a $150,000,000 bond measure, meant to “improve classrooms, libraries, and infrastructure.”  That’s just 8 years ago.

Were the construction projects funded by that $150,000,000 so shoddy that it all has to be done over again?

If so, why should we trust the proponents, this time around, to get it right?

Answer: We shouldn’t.

If you wanted a personal computer for your home or business, would you take out a 30-year loan at an unknown interest rate to pay for it?

That would be nuts, right?  Especially because most technology is obsolete in 3–5 years.  But, decades of debt are what the proponents of Measure H want to push on us, with this bond.

Bond interest rates can legally go as high as 12% per year.

Would you buy a house or condo without knowing the interest rate?  That would be nuts, right?

But Measure H’s proponents are asking us to accept that uncertainty, that risk.

And because bonds are like mortgages — they have to be paid back with interest — what is the real cost of this $67,400,000 bond measure?

If we assume a 3% rate, that’s $2,022,000 per year, just in interest.

Over 30 years, that adds up to $60,660,000 in interest, plus the original bond amount of $64,400,000, for a total cost of $125,060,000.

What makes schools great is great teachers.  Not fancy classrooms or the trendiest computer technology.

By the time this bond is paid off, the technology it funded will be long obsolete, probably rotting in some landfill dump.

School funding should be used to pay teachers, not squandered on bond interest for the next 30 years.

Just say NO to more debt. Vote NO on Measure H.

For more information, please see:

www.SVTaxpayers.org/2016-franklin-mckinnley-school-bond-measure

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Franklin-McKinley School District $67,400,000 BOND Measure H – Rebuttal to the Argument in Favor

In 2008, district voters passed a $150,000,000 bond measure to “improve classrooms, libraries, and infrastructure”—just 8 years ago.

Were the construction projects funded by that $150,000,000 so shoddy that it all has to be done over again?

If so, why should we trust them this time around to get it right?

Answer: We shouldn’t.

If you wanted a personal computer for your home or business, would you take out a 30-year loan at an unknown interest rate to pay for it?

Ridiculous, right? Especially since most technology goes obsolete in 3-5 years.  But, decades of debt are what Measure H’s proponents would burden us with.

Annual bond interest rates can legally be as high as 12%.

Bond measures are like mortgages.  These loans must be paid back with interest, so what is the real cost of this $67,400,000 bond measure?

Assuming a 3% rate, that’s $2,022,000/year—just in interest.

In 30 years, that’s $60,660,000 in interest, plus the original $64,400,000, for a total cost of $125,060,000.

What makes schools great is great teachers—not fancy classrooms or the trendiest technology.

By the time this bond measure is paid off, the technology it funded will be long ago obsolete—in a museum if it’s lucky, more likely in a landfill.

School funding should be used to pay teachers, not to pay bond interest for the next 30 years.

Just say NO to Measure H.

Please see our web site:

www.SVTaxpayers.org/2016-franklin-mckinley-school-bond-measure


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