Vote No on $80 Million Bond and Ask

School Board to Resize Their Plan

 

What is the Rye City School Board thinking? All homeowners are being hit with a big tax increase owing to the cap on property tax deductions. On top of that, an additional $80,000,000 tax increase by the Board of Education? Talk about a one-two economic punch to homeowners.

 

If there was ever a year to put the brakes on big tax increases, it’s this year. How many for-sale signs on homes do we need to see to grasp it? Our neighbors are voting with their feet and leaving. More may follow.

 

We teach our families the difference between need and desire. That should be a required class for the Board of Ed. The fiscally right, smart, and sensible thing would be to unbundle, clarify, and phase in budget requests over several years. All capital projects evolve, some desires become irrelevant while better opportunities present themselves. Smaller projects are more manageable; we all witnessed the problems the Board had in completing high school Science Wing a few years ago.

 

Many residents are shocked by this big-budget request. They raise the question: If the Board of Ed can tax the entire community, why doesn’t it have any members who aren’t “invested” in the District — residents without children, residents with grown children, residents who are retired? It is time for the Board of Ed to be more representative of the entire community, especially as their acts dramatically impact each and every taxpayer.

 

The City continues to find ways to do more with less. Why can’t the Board of Ed follow suit? Sixty percent of every tax dollar we pay goes to the School District. The Board of Ed needs to sharpen its pencil and resubmit a more realistic budget. Like the rest of us, it is time the BOE recognized the difference between need and desire. Otherwise, residents will vote “NO”.

 

— Chris Cohan