I am not happy with another vote for a Battle Ground Public Schools bond. I will vote No.
First, I do not understand why the school district changed the amount they needed for a bond in about a years time. In Nov. 2016 they seemed happy to ask for an $80 million dollar bond. Here we are in April 2018 and now they need $224 million plus $135 million in interest?? So what changed? Did the amount of students in that amount of time double or triple? I think not.
The school district talks about “long-range planning.”
I quote from the Battle Ground Public Schools website, “after two years of community outreach and critical study to evaluate and prioritize projects into a fiscally responsible Long-Range Facilities Plan.”
I ask where was the long range planning in Nov. 2016, when they wanted only $80 million dollars? Did the old buildings suddenly spring a leak in a roof, or did the walls start to crumble? It looks to me like the district needs to take a step back and honestly look at what they need versus what they want.
I am a retired veteran, with a supply/logistics background who dealt with multi-million dollar budgets. When dealing with the government, the “Big Boys” much higher up the chain, I would pad the budget request asking for the moon so to speak. They knew that whatever amount they requested, it would be cut to the bare minimum. Thus asking for as much as possible maybe they would get a little more than if they kept quiet. So I ask myself, is this how the school district operates, always asking for more than what they really need?
I agree with the gentleman in the April 4, 2018 letter to the editor who stated, “basically I'm not happy about approving more borrowing when we are still paying on prior debt. To me it seems like faulty planning and somewhat financially irresponsible to propose new borrowing.”
He stated that the current bond won’t be paid off until 2023.
One last thing. Lets pay off the last bond before we take on more debt. If this new bond passes and we are saddled with paying two bonds at the same time it would be a huge burden to all of Battle Ground residents. Your taxes will go up.
Let's make planning and financial responsibility our goal for a better school system.
