• Category: Local News
• Published Date

In this coming election, we have two ballot measures that would help raise money for our schools.  Let's face it, they've faced some serious budget cuts in recent years, and next year is looking downright scary if we don't find a new source of revenue for the schools - the easy cuts have already been made.

The first is Proposition 103, a fixed-duration (five year) tax increase to take us back to the level of taxes from the 1990s, statewide.  After five years, the tax increase expires - hopefully by then the economy will have rebounded and statewide tax revenues will have increased.

The other item on the ballot is ballot question 3A, a local mill levy override which would increase property taxes by about $2.50 per month per $100k of home value.  So, it's really not that much, but would make a world of difference to the RE-2 school district, bringing around $950k next year.  We'd still have the lowest Mill Levy rate of local districts, even with that!  You can learn more about that one at this link, or read this article from the Courier to hear what the Superintendent has to say about this issue.

Please consider voting YES on both of these.  Our schools have already cut what we can realistically expect, and then some.  Let's ensure our children receive a quality education to prepare them for success.