Ballots to go out for local option

Registered voters in the Sisters School District will receive their local option levy ballots in the mail next week. The ballots can be returned by mail or dropped off at city hall no later than March 12.

If the five-year levy is renewed in 2013, the levy would provide the Sisters School District (SSD) with a continuation of the local option taxes at the rate of 75 cents per $1,000 of a property's assessed value. According to official ballot documents, a home with an assessed value of $172,024 (average assessed value of residential property in the district) would pay $10.75 monthly or $129.02 annually.

This year, the local option provided the district with $991,351.35 to supplement its $10,501,384.00 budget, or 9.4 percent of the district's annual budget.

This year's campaign in favor of local option has been well-organized and assertive, in part because the stakes are high. After cutting millions out of its budget due to recessionary cutbacks in state funding, the district is running on limited resources.

"It has been a very constructive campaign so far," said campaign chair Winter Lewis. "We have contacted close to 3,000 voters in the district and have had good dialogue with all of them. This process has turned into more than an effort to renew the levy that makes our schools unique. It has morphed into a wonderful opportunity to discuss how we can continue to grow as a district both academically and as a partner with the business community. Our supporters include business owners, retirees, parents in the district and recent graduates.

"We have received a unanimous endorsement for renewal - from the City of Sisters, Sisters Park & Recreation District and the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce," continued Lewis. "We have made direct contact with a majority of the businesses in Sisters area and we have received almost unanimous support. Strong schools mean a strong community."

Lewis is a Bend optometrist and Sisters resident with kids in the Sisters schools.

The strong connection between local economic development and Sisters schools performance in academics and athletics has been noted by many.

If not renewed, the district will have to cut an average of $1.2 million annually from the budget for the next five years. This loss equates to the reduction of 26 school days or 14 teachers, or the elimination of all-day kindergarten, art, music, sports, and other extra-curricular opportunities.

In the face of unpredictable funding from the State of Oregon, local option has allowed the district to preserve school days, retain staff, maintain small class sizes, and offer a well-rounded academic program including honors and remedial offerings in core subjects: mathematics, reading, and writing.

The campaign has prided itself on being non-partisan and community-oriented.

"At a time when divisiveness still crowds out common-sense decision making at the Federal level, the citizens of Sisters are keeping politics out of the conversation and are voting for what's best for Sisters," said Kay Grady, school board member and local organizer for the promotion of the local option.

This is a one-item ballot, and to pass, the levy must receive a "super-majority." That means the "yes" votes must total more than 50 percent of the registered voters, not just more than 50 percent of the votes cast.

That makes a high voter turnout critical for the campaigners.

Ballots can be mailed or faxed to Melodie Kirk, Deputy Clerk - Elections Department Deschutes County Clerk's Office, 1300 NW Wall St., Suite 202, Bend, OR 97701, Fax: 541-383-4424. The city hall drop box is available from February 25 to March 12.