Clarification by School Board on recent increase

Dear Editor,

Over the last few weeks, several readers have expressed their certainty that construction of the new Owego Elementary School must be the cause of some increased tax bills this year. While this notion puts a simple and tidy wrapper around the issue, it couldn’t be further from the truth.

Nearly all of us favor simple summations of complex issues. The old school building was destroyed in a flood; therefore global warming MUST be a fact. Last winter saw a return to an “old fashioned” tough Northeast winter, therefore global warming MUST NOT be a fact. Each of these examples provides a simple, plainly stated assertion that allows us to set aside any critical thinking, but they also perpetuate a bumper sticker mentality.

Regarding this year’s tax bills, the reality is that District voters last year approved a budget that effectively required a zero percent tax levy increase. Unfortunately, some individuals experienced tax increases as a result of equalization rates that are applied town-by-town across the District and some potential assessment changes conducted by the Town assessor. Neither of these factors is under the control of the District and, in fact, some OACSD taxpayers experienced modest decreases in their tax bill.

Construction of the new school has always been advertised as not requiring any new money from District taxpayers and it has been delivered accordingly. The approximate allocation of funding for the building’s construction is FEMA (66 percent), New York State Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (22 percent), New York State Department of Education building aid (9 percent), District Capital Reserve (2 percent), and Insurance (1 percent). No new tax monies are required for construction of this building.

It has also been alleged that the Board knew of the few dramatic local increases and intentionally chose to ignore the fact by blithely passing the bills on to taxpayers. This claim is also incorrect. The District sent out a special mailing to those taxpayers who would see increases, letting them know why their taxes were increasing in light of a school tax levy equal to the prior year.

None of us enjoy paying taxes. New York has long suffered a tax burden disproportionate with almost every other state in the country, but a careful examination of District budgets and tax levies over the last 5-plus years demonstrates that we have acted as faithful stewards of your tax dollars. But don’t merely take my word on the matter, as you should never blindly trust anyone elected.

President Reagan coined the phrase “trust, but verify,” and to that end, please examine our budgets and levies from recent years and draw your own INFORMED conclusions.

Sincerely,

David M. Barton

President, Owego-Apalachin Board of Education