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This article by Bill Bodden of Redmond was publish in The Redmond Spokesman in October 2002 Shelby Case and The Spokesman deserve compliments for their balanced articles on the school bond. It is encouraging to note that school and city officials finally recognize there is a case for system development charges (SDCs) for schools even if they are embracing the obvious with reluctance. Will their new position survive if the school bond is approved? Let’s take a look at how SDCs for schools could work. Assume a new community with 700 houses that sell for $125,000 each. Each home contributes one child to the school population to require a new 700-seat school. Each seat costs $20,000 for a total cost of $14 million. If we applied a 4 per cent SDC ($5,000) to each house we would raise $3.5 million or 25 per cent of the school cost. Try variations on those numbers. For example, reduce the per-seat cost to $17,000 and raise the SDC rate to 6 per cent ($7,500) and SDCs will pay for 44 per cent of the school cost. Clearly, SDCs could go a long way to help pay for new schools. Any amount raised is better than nothing. In making his case against SDCs a representative from the builders association ignored the fact that our system calls for property, not people, to pay for school taxes. Accordingly, he suggests it would be unfair to charge childless buyers SDCs for schools. Extend that argument to its logical conclusion and you make a case for absolving childless homeowners from the obligation to pay for schools through their property taxes. Given Oregon’s budget crisis and school funding issues it is obvious we really need new thinking in Salem on fair ways for the people of Oregon to pay for schools and other services. Check Cylvia Hayes’ ideas on school funding at www.cylviahayes.com. Back to Education Home Page Back to Schools Home Page |
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