People in Warsaw School District should really consider voting in the city primary election on May 5. I know that primary elections generally are not very well attended by the electorate. I think the last primary election turnout hovered in the range of 10 percent. But there are some pretty important races in the upcoming primary for Warsaw voters. In most cases, there are no races. But there are two at-large city council seats that are contested as well as a race for city clerk-treasurer. These are important positions that deserve voters’ attention. A meet-the-candidates night sponsored by the Kosciusko County Chamber of Commerce was sparsely attended Thursday night. There were about as many public officials as voters in attendance. We published an account of that event in Friday’s edition. There also will be the usual candidate profiles for those seeking contested offices in next Thursday’s edition. I would encourage all voters in Warsaw to grab copies of those newspapers, get informed and get out and vote. In addition to the city council and clerk treasurer’s races, there is a pretty significant referendum question on the ballot. Here is the text of that question: "Shall Warsaw Community Schools issue bonds or enter into a lease to finance the construction of a replacement Lincoln Elementary School, the renovation of and improvements to the Washington Elementary School and the Edgewood Middle School, which is estimated to cost not more than $39,000,000 and is estimated to increase the property tax rate for debt service by a maximum of $0.138 per $100 of assessed valuation over the 20 year life of the bonds?" That question is the catalyst for all those orange signs you see stuck in front of houses around town. Voters will be asked to give the school corporation permission to float the bonds needed to build a new Lincoln Elementary and renovate Washington Elementary and Lakeview Middle School. This is the first time voters in Warsaw have been asked to answer a question like this, even though it’s not the first time, obviously, Warsaw has built schools. The law changed in 2008, requiring voters to approve building projects worth $12 million or more via referendum if new property taxes are needed to pay for them. (It also requires that for projects of $2 million to $12 million, residents can force a referendum through a remonstrance.) Some people were wondering why Tippecanoe Valley isn’t having a referendum for its Akron Elementary School building project, which is $17.6 million. That’s because they will be retiring a bond and their tax rate isn’t going to rise. The only way they would need a referendum is if at least 100 taxpayers sign a remonstrance. So what does all this really mean? What it means is that if you vote yes, Warsaw will get new and renovated schools and your property taxes will go up a little bit. If you vote no, Warsaw won’t get new schools and your taxes won’t go up. A couple of questions come to mind. First of all, how much will taxes go up? Well, if your property has an assessed valuation of $100,000, your property tax bill will rise $45.85 per year or $3.82 per month. You can apply that same ratio to any assessed valuation. If you’re assessed at double that – $200,000 – your taxes go up by $91.70 a year or $7.64 a month. If your property is assessed at $50,000, you’d pay $22.93 a year or $1.91 a month. You get the picture. If you rent, you don’t pay property taxes, so unless your landlord decides to pass his tax increase along to you, you won’t be affected at all. A second question is whether Warsaw needs these improvements. Well, if you have followed our coverage of this issue, you will recall the previous superintendent, Dr. Craig Hintz, commissioned a facilities need study in 2012. As the result of that study, the “prioritized needs” included the following (M is for million): • STEM Academy, $7.8M • Career Center, $15.8M • High School, $29M • Lakeview, $18.8M • Edgewood, $650,000 • OrthoWorx Junior Stem Academy, $31M • Educational Services Center, $8.2M • Eisenhower, $10.8M • Harrison, $10.8M • Jefferson, $260,000 • Lincoln, $24.4M • Gateway Education Center, $4.8M • Central Services Center, $6.6M • WCHS athletic facilities, $3.6M • New “north” elementary school, $20M The total price tag was more than $111 million. I would not have been able to support that extensive of a building program. Hintz left in 2014 and the current superintendent, Dr. Dave Hoffert, was hired. He and the current school board looked over the 2012 facilities study and came up with a much leaner and more prudent building program. I simply don’t see any of what the school is proposing as pie-in-the-sky. Other school districts around the state have sent exorbitant wishlists of more than $100 million to voters. This is not the case here. It should be obvious to even the most casual observer that these are needs the school corporation must address – sooner or later. I know there are reasons to vote no. I can see an elderly taxpayer on a fixed income saying, “I don’t have any kids in school so why should I pay for a new school?” I can see someone who lives in Leesburg or Silver Lake saying, “All those schools are in Warsaw, why should I pay for their new schools?” I can see someone simply saying, “I’m taxed too much already.” In all those cases, I see it as a case of “a rising tide lifts all boats.” I know, I know. It’s a tired, trite old cliché, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t true. Schools are an important part of the community – one of the first things people look at when they are contemplating a move. How can a community expect to attract the best and brightest workforce if schools are neglected? How can a community expect to produce the most well-educated students – especially with today’s technologically dependent curricula – if facilities are aging and outdated? I think regardless of your age or address, everyone benefits from a strong local school system. And I think the community should support the school corporation in its effort to provide the best in modern education.
