BALLOT TITLE
GENERAL OPERATION FOR FIVE YEARS
QUESTION: Shall the district impose 0.6550 per thousand dollars of assessed value for five years to support general operations beginning in 2001/2002? This measure may cause property taxes to increase more than three percent.
SUMMARY: The district will use the tax revenues from this measure to maintain current programs and student/teacher ratios.
A rate of 0.6550 per thousand dollars of assessed value is estimated to raise $228,000 in 2001/02, $234,840 in 2002/03, $241,885 in 2003/04, $249,142 in 2004/05, $256,616 in 2005/06 for an estimated total of $1,210,483
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
This measure will raise approximately $1.2 million for Riverdale schools. The funds will be used to maintain the excellent standard of education for which Riverdale is known. In addition, the funds will allow a continuation of a broad variety of class offerings and small class sizes from kindergarten through high school.
In the last Oregon legislative session, a bill was passed that enables local school districts, under strict limitations and guidelines, to propose an increase in property taxes, all of which will go directly to the local school district. This "Local Option" property tax is a five-year serial levy. The amount we can legally raise is $500 per student per year. This amount equates to an additional property tax levy of approximately $0.6550 per $1,000 assessed valuation. If passed, for every $100,000 of assessed property value, a property owner would pay an additional $65.50 in property taxes per year for the next five years—a small price to pay to preserve the high standards and excellent programs at Riverdale.
Why does the District need to raise additional taxes?
During the 1990’s, Oregon voters passed the tax-limiting Measures 5 and 50. These measures effectively limited the amount of property taxes that could be levied for any public purpose—including our public schools. Then the Oregon Legislature shifted the flow and amount of funding per student from local taxing districts to the state. This effort had a crippling effect on Riverdale. In the 1996-1997 school year, Riverdale received tax funds equal to $7,467 per student. This amount progressively decreased to the current state funding of $5,018 per student. The reduced funding represents a 33% decrease in public tax-based support.
Has the District been diligent in managing the school district budgets?
This year the budget was decreased by 8% from 1999-2000. With between 70%-75% of our budget spent on instructional salaries, there are only two significant expense-cutting options. One is to cut programs. The other is to increase class size. Riverdale is exceptional because of its strong programs and its small class size. If Riverdale schools eliminate programs or increase class size they lose their unique character and their excellence.
Why did the School Board decide to put this proposed Local Option Measure on the November 2000 ballot?
This was a difficult decision for the School Board. Nobody likes to raise taxes. However, the Board believes that the fairest way to share the financial burden for our local public schools is through a property tax that impacts all of the property owners in the School District.
Our District has a long tradition and history of excellence. The impact of this excellence has been the placement of Riverdale students among the top scholastic achievers in the State. Riverdale schools provide our students a safe, small, local public education. Riverdale schools provide an education under a set of principles that develop each student to be a successful citizen. Riverdale schools are a model of what public education can be, if it is not abandoned.
Submitted by:
Jim Mabbott,
Superintendent
No arguments AGAINST this measure were filed.
ARGUMENT IN FAVOR
Please support us and support the passage of a local option operating levy (Measure 26-25) for the Riverdale public schools. With your vote, we can bring back local control to our school district, retain our small class sizes and prevent the elimination of valued programs in the arts, music, library services, foreign languages and sports.
During the past four years, public funding for Riverdale schools has not increased. It has not stayed the same. It has decreased 33% from $7,467 per student to $5,018 per student. Our school district has been able to avoid most of the pain by drawing from the district’s $2 million stabilization fund. But the stabilization fund is now fully depleted.
Fortunately, for the first time in a decade, school districts in Oregon can ask local property taxpayers to help their local schools directly with operating funds. Residents in Portland, Corvallis, Tigard/Tualatin, West Linn/Wilsonville, Lake Oswego, Eugene, Crow/Applegate/Lorane, Camas Valley, Helix, Pendleton, and Seaside have already adopted local option taxes.
By law the measure can only raise $500 per student for each of the next five years for Riverdale. But along with the help of charitable funds, passage of this measure will allow our school district to maintain its excellent curriculum, retain its small class sizes (an average of 20 students per class) and have a far better chance to control its destiny.
Support small class size.
Prevent the elimination of valued programs.
Your vote for this Local Option tax levy helps to maintain excellence in public education for our children.
Please vote YES for Riverdale Schools!
David Goldberg, Treasurer Committee for Riverdale Schools
Deborah Spanton, President Riverdale High School PTC
Sharon Place, President, Riverdale Grade School PTC
Bob Wiggins
Barbara Chalmers
James Coonan
Gerald Kolve
Jill Edelson
Paul Francis
Lorri Kehoe
Christine Swanson
Michael Kehoe
Gerard Langeler
Jill Hall
Blake Singer
Carol Lewallen
Susan Menashe
Holly Coit
Norm Rickles
Mark Zusman
Maria Stanley Smith
Beth deHamel Paul Frisch
(This information furnished by David Goldberg, Committee for Riverdale Schools)
The printing of this argument does not constitute an endorsement by Multnomah County, nor does the county warrant the accuracy or truth of any statements made in the argument.