School bond rates drop

The tax bill for the new $21-million high school that will open in Sisters this fall has been lower than expected and is continuing to drop.

In his budget message for 2003-04, Superintendent Steve Swisher noted that, "The bond rate for the new high school and middle school conversion was anticipated to be $1.62 per $1,000 (assessed valuation) during the initial campaign in 2001."

Instead, the annual rate needed to make the bond payment started at $1.39 per $1,000 in 2001-02 and dropped to $1.30 during 2002-03, the fiscal year that will end June 30. Swisher said the rate is expected to drop still further in the coming year, 2003-04, thanks to a continuing increase in the assessed value of taxable property.

Meanwhile, the bonds that financed the current high school, which is now being remodeled for use as a middle school, are following the same pattern. The tax rate for those bonds was 95 cents per $1,000 the year before the new high school bonds were added. The older rate dropped to 67 cents per $1,000 in 2001-02 and 58 cents in 2002-03.