Feb 2018 Battle Ground Capital Bond

Information regarding the Yes position can be found at:

BGSD Bond page: http://www.battlegroundps.org/bond

The BGSD “blog”: http://www.battlegroundps.org/blog/battlegroundpublicschoolscontinuetoseeenrollmentgrowth

The PAC supporting the Yes vote has a Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/BattleGroundCitizensforBetterSchools/

Those considering voting NO can find full information at the Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/137961913517155/

Update: Feb 7th

You may want to review the Pros and Cons article: https://swweducation.org?p=4624

You may also want to read the BGSD 10 year Student Enrollment Report: https://swweducation.org?p=4656

Update Jan 29th

Property taxes

As we get ready to vote yes or no on the Battle Ground School District Capital Bond it may be a good time to look at our property tax bills. http://gis.clark.wa.gov/gishome/Property/

If you enter your address you should be able to see what you pay. Please note that 2018 will see increases in:

1) Assessed value up a projected 9.4%
2) State school tax rate UP from $1.98/$1000 to $2.90/$1000
3) Clark County Property tax +1%
4) Battle Ground City tax + 1.8%
5) Fire district +?
6) Year #2 of the BGSD levy (year 1 up 16% with year 2 up 5% over year 1)

In our case the 2017 taxes were over $5500 with 2018 going to be over $6000. About 57% of property taxes goes to local and state for schools.

Looking at taxes in total and not just specific items helps all of us determine what we can afford.

When was the last time you checked your tax bill out in detail?

Update January 27, 2018

We added a blog article about the bond for voter consideration: https://swweducation.org?p=4624

Update January 22, 2018

BGSD Levy History

Levy money is called Maintenance & Operations Levy. The money was originally intended to provide school districts with extra funds to take care of maintenance and upkeep with a eye on major issues like roofs and structural issues.

Over time districts started using some of the money to hire more personnel beyond what the State allows. The BGSD has evolved to a 10/90 situation. That is, 10% of the levy money goes to maintenance and operations and 90% goes to personnel.

Out of that 10% a small portion is actually used for “asset preservation” which is a technical way of saying taking care of major issues like roofs and structures.

We did some digging and have assembled (in the document below) history going back to 2004. We asked the district for the “asset preservation” breakout…unfortunately they could only go back to 2007 because they changed record keeping systems.

Take a look at the numbers. You will see a history of well over a decade of M&O money being minimized and AP money undergoing adjustments.

So what you ask? Well if you don’t take care of the buildings and use levy money for M&O buildings fall apart faster and that means the school board goes to the public and asks for more money to fix the neglected issues..and they call it a Capital Bond.

Is there a way to assure that the school board will allocate the necessary amount of money to maximize the life of fixed assets? NOPE. If they did it in the past…they’ll likely follow the same in the future.

Are you ok paying for neglect?

From 2007/08 the BGSD collected $237,294,708 in Levy money
In that same time the “asset preservation” budget was $10,245,500
- The “asset preservation” expenditures = 4.3% of the Levy collections

Update Jan 6, 2018

The BGSD and Citizens for Better Schools BG are saying that the growth in residential construction (single family and multi family) will lead to overcrowding. The claim this…false.

We contacted Clark Count Planning and obtained the residential permits issued for 2015-16-17. We then contacted the City of Battle Ground and got their residential permit data for the same period.

The attached file contains the data. It also contains our analysis. Here’s what we learned:

1) Permits in the BGSD are on the decline
2) Given the historical average of ~.45 students per residence (combines SF & MF) AND assuming a 6-12 month delay in occupation and impact on schools we see:
a) If we take ½ of 2015 we should have had 174.6 new students in 2015 (there would be a 2014 impact but we don’t have the data)
b) If we take ½ of 2015 and ½ of 2016 (828) x .45 = 372.6 new students in 2016
c) If we take ½ 2016 and ½ 2017 (646) x .45 = 290.7 new students in 2017
d) In those 3 years we should have had 174.6 + 372.6 + 290.7 = 837.9 new students and in reality we are up ~235 students (3 years) which means that they are running at 28% of the projected student population growth. Thus, their future projections should be multiplied by .28 to get to the historical average.

So, when you look at their claims of unbridled growth you may want to take it with a grain of salt. Shifting students in border areas to schools with open classrooms could balance class size. Remember that even if this bond were to be approved it would take 4-5 years minimum to get any relief.

Look at the facts and don’t be drawn into the emotion.

2015-2017 BGSD Residential Permits

Battle Ground School District Demographics – https://www.point2homes.com/US/Neighborhood/WA/Clark-County/Battle-Ground-School-District-Demographics.html

Details:

Total Households	49,364
Family Households	36,449
Non-family Households	12,915
Households With Children	19,060
Households Without Children	30,308
Average People Per Household	2.92

61.3% of the households have no children
26.2% of the households are non-family

Average Household Income	$77,533
Median Household Income	$64,706
Percent Increase/Decrease in Income Since 2000	22%
Percent Increase/Decrease in Income Since 2010	4%
Average Household Net Worth	$571,972
Median Home Sale Price	$216,845
Sales Tax Rate	7.7%
Average Household Total Expenditure	$58,775

$18,758 left for spending for average earners with average expenditures