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Sylvia Gibson raised a concern about the Park County School District 3A ballot question in her letter to the editor of The Fairplay Flume (Oct. 9) titled “Against Re-2 ballot proposal on 3A.” She is correct that $15 million matching funds is proposed to the voters, but this is for the Fairplay campus. The ballot question deals with two campuses.
The second paragraph on the ballot includes the Lake George Charter School. The matching funds for that school are $900,000. The $16 million stated in the ballot equals the total matching funds for both campuses. In Lake George, the $900,000 represents only 13 percent of the cost of the new school complex. If the grant to be submitted by Lake George in March 2010 is approved, the state of Colorado will pay the remaining 87 percent of the cost. If the grant is not approved, the $900,000 will not be assessed to the taxpayers.
Silvia also questioned the wording “… shall ad valorem property taxes be levied in any year, WITHOUT LIMITATIONS (Silvia's capitalization) as to rate…” The words “without limitations” make it appear that taxes can be increased. This is not the case. The annual repayment amounts are fixed and constrained by the dollar values stated on the ballot. The debt repayment service stays level and would be the same each year.
The words “without limitations” refer to the mill levy, which can vary with assessed property values. Historically, assessed values have increased, which in turn require a lower mill levy to generate the same dollar amounts from year to year to repay the fixed debt.
The second paragraph on the ballot includes the Lake George Charter School. The matching funds for that school are $900,000. The $16 million stated in the ballot equals the total matching funds for both campuses. In Lake George, the $900,000 represents only 13 percent of the cost of the new school complex. If the grant to be submitted by Lake George in March 2010 is approved, the state of Colorado will pay the remaining 87 percent of the cost. If the grant is not approved, the $900,000 will not be assessed to the taxpayers.
Silvia also questioned the wording “… shall ad valorem property taxes be levied in any year, WITHOUT LIMITATIONS (Silvia's capitalization) as to rate…” The words “without limitations” make it appear that taxes can be increased. This is not the case. The annual repayment amounts are fixed and constrained by the dollar values stated on the ballot. The debt repayment service stays level and would be the same each year.
The words “without limitations” refer to the mill levy, which can vary with assessed property values. Historically, assessed values have increased, which in turn require a lower mill levy to generate the same dollar amounts from year to year to repay the fixed debt.
