School tax advocates remain cautious

Coordinators for the campaign to pass the two Sisters School District tax measures continue to be guarded about chances for victory in the November 7 election.

Bill Willitts, chair of the Committee for Sisters School Children, spoke out less than one week before October 20, the day ballots are scheduled to be mailed.

"I think the outcome for either the local option levy or the school bond is too close to call at this time," he said.

Willitts characterized the people he has spoken with as falling into one of two categories: "Those who vote with their heart are in favor of children and community -- and (overwhelmingly) support our efforts. Others with concerns vote primarily through financial considerations--they're either fiscally conservative (by philosophy) or have strong, personal economic issues such as being retired, or on a fixed income."

His measured assessment was echoed by another campaign coordinator, current school board vice-president Heather Wester.

"I think it is pretty close -- I wouldn't want to say right now," Wester said.

Willitts added that he thought a partial victory was unlikely.

"In my opinion, either both will pass -- or they both will fail," he said.

But passage of the two measures is, according to Sisters School Superintendent Steve Swisher (who has returned home to recover from a near-fatal auto accident), necessary to maintain the high quality of local schools, which have been squeezed the past decade by low state funding allotments.

The proposed four-year local option levy would tax property owners at 75 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. For a homeowner with property assessed at $150,000, this would most likely represent a yearly increase in her tax payment of $112.

However, because of the intricacies of Oregon Measures 5 and 50 (tax initiatives approved by voters in the past decade), two properties of similar assessed values but dissimilar market values would be taxed at different rates.

It is this complexity which makes it next to impossible to calculate how much the levy would raise. Deschutes County tax officials estimate the potential yearly revenue of the levy to lie between $400,000 and $500,000.

Whatever the exact figure, Swisher has said the revenue would be spent primarily to "lower class sizes in core curriculum subjects." He also pledged to allocate funds to catch up on needed school maintenance, replace worn and outdated text and library books, and look at restoring activities and sports.

According to material gathered by a building subcommittee and presented this spring to Swisher, the current middle school, which dates back to the Depression and World War II-era, is in desperate need of major repair. But because of the large enrollment increases in both the middle and high schools over the past decade, the school board determined that replacement is the most cost-effective solution.

In effect, the proposed 20-year, $22 million bond would finance the construction of a new 800-student high school upon the same campus as the current one. The middle school would then relocate to the current high school.

The financial impact of the bond measure is easier for taxpayers to calculate since it is not affected by the tax measures. For the owner of a home assessed at $150,000, the tax increase, computed at $1.65 per $1,000 of assessed value, works out to a 20-year annual increase of $247.50.

This figure, added to the estimated impact of the levy (which, once again, will vary from property to property), brings the potential total tax increase for our example household to a little less than $360 per year.

Of course, other variables come into play in calculating the total tax picture over the life of both of these measures. But Willitts and Wester are quick to point out that what is most important for voters to consider is the fact that Sisters taxpayers now are paying considerably less than their peers in neighboring communities such as Redmond, Bend, and La Pine.

Willitts said that working to pass the measures has been a community effort.

"About 25 of us meet every Thursday evening at 7 p.m. at the Ponderosa Lodge to coordinate our efforts for the next week -- and we could certainly use more volunteers," Willitts said.

For voters who would like to see for themselves the condition of the middle school, Wester said she will be on-site at the school every Tuesday at 8:15 a.m. to lead a short tour.