Local Option: Now more than ever

The economy is in recession and many of us are finding it more difficult to make ends meet. We're all thinking hard about where to cut back, and which investments to continue. For some, education is not a top priority. Others believe strongly that continuing to pay a small price to preserve a strong school system is in Sisters' best interest.

Most voters are currently paying less than a dollar a day to support Sisters schools through the local option levy. This will not change if you vote Yes. Voting no will buy you a cup of coffee and change our schools substantially for the worse.

Is the local option a new tax? No. It has been in effect for eight years. Tax rates will not go up if you approve the ballot measure. For property assessed at $250,000 - about half the properties in Sisters-the cost is about 50 cents per day. Renters do not pay property tax.

Furthermore, when the middle school construction bond payments end in 2010, property tax rates will fall by 50 cents per $1,000. Currently you are paying 75 cents per $1,000 of assessed value for the local option tax.

Is the school district getting good educational results from the money it spends? Ask any Realtor: People move to Central Oregon for the lifestyle; they move to Sisters for the schools. Sisters has one of the highest percentages of National Merit Scholars and one of the lowest drop-out rates in Oregon.

Do we need local option if enrollment is declining? Yes, in times of declining enrollment, local option is even more important for preserving school quality. Close to 90 percent of Sisters school funds come from the state. Funds are allocated on a per student basis. When the number of students declines, we get less state money and must reduce the number of teachers. But even if we eliminate one teacher for every 30 students lost, the cost savings do not enough cover the lost revenue. We must also still cut academic programs, extracurricular activities and other expenses to make up the difference.

We're in a recession; are schools tightening their belts? Yes. Sisters' school budget has been cut by $100,000 this year. Further cuts of $300,000 or more in state funding before the end of June are under discussion. Schools throughout the state are considering lopping days off the school year, going to four-day weeks, laying off staff, cutting electives, increasing class sizes, and scaling back arts and athletic programs.

With the huge state deficit projected next year, additional large cuts in state funding are expected even with potential federal stimulus payments.

We're in a recession; do we really need local option? Absolutely. If on March 10 voters keep the local option, the Sisters school budget will be cut only about the same as other Oregon districts. If not, Sisters schools stand to lose about 10 percent beyond the belt-tightening going on in other districts. Without local option we'll be facing the perfect storm: budget cuts from Salem, less revenues due to declining enrollment, and a loss of 10 percent of the district s operating budget.

Eight years ago, faced with recession and budget cuts from Salem, Sisters voters enacted the local option to provide better education for our children. The economy presents us with even greater challenges now. We're a community that doesn't wait for others to fix our problems. Acting together, we can do what none of us can do individually.

Voting yes for local option will keep your tax rate unchanged. It's a small investment we can all make to keep our schools and our community strong.

Brian Witt is chairman of the Sisters Local Option Committee.