How unfortunate that the timing of our vote for the future of education in New Paltz coincides with our receiving that mail marked “Important Tax Documents”. I now recognize that the February 9th vote will reinforce the direction our school district takes in preparing our kids for complex and challenging lives in this integrated, global, technologically advanced society.
The vote is not about a building, nor about taxes, nor the recession. It’s about community and the willingness of us folks to invest in the future of this community. It is about the role of our schools in developing strong thinkers who can work on complex problems spanning multiple subjects, organized as teams that strive toward common goals, a capacity urgently needed in the workforce and desperately lacking in civic organizations like those in our nation’s capitol.
On January 27th I attended the final school board meeting pertaining to the middle school project. The board detailed the reasons why we need to replace our middle school, why it makes fiscal sense to do it now, during the recession, at its current location, and how the design of the new middle school lends itself to 21st century educational best-practices.
I was amazed by the thoroughness of the work this board produced, all of it available on the web site. I can imagine the time investment they have given to this project since its inception and I profoundly respect their willingness to do it on our behalf. I was impressed by the patience they demonstrated answering questions and addressing concerns of the assembled taxpayers, whose understandable frustrations about such a big decision were handled graciously by the board.
At the meeting, we comprehensively discussed the financials of the project. I had no prior knowledge of the numbers involved though I had seen a few lawn signs of folks who oppose the project. I left the meeting with a clear understanding of the costs for New Paltz taxpayers, the contributions from Albany and the debt service on both our existing bonds and the one associated with this project. Everyone present that night received a detailed spreadsheet from the district’s business manager and heard his succinct explanation of the financial impact we can expect.
It boils down to this: Based on assessed home values, the average New Paltz taxpayer will incur $162.75 per year additional school taxes for the next twenty years on top of whatever school tax increase would already take place, capped at 4%. That’s $13.56 average per month for homeowners, a bit more for some, a bit less for others, but roughly the cost of a burger and beer at P&Gs.
I am excited to make this investment in New Paltz. I am glad for my kids and the children of every family in this district, now and for the next 50+ years, who will have the privilege of learning in a sophisticated educational program amongst a community of forward-thinking, hopeful and responsible adults. We will create a top-tier middle school as the launching pad for our kids into our already top-200 in the nation high school. I can’t imagine a better way for our kids to prepare themselves or a more worthy investment for us to make.
Please vote YES on February 9th.
Ben Marshall
New Paltz
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