It’s a Tax Increase – and a Broken Promise

An Analysis of Windham Schools - Part 6

The term “High Water Mark” has been used for a long time to describe the level of taxes that we would pay, should the proposed new school project be approved this March. It has been linked with statements like; “The tax impact for school construction will not exceed the High Water Mark of FY12” (see School Board chart below) and “There will be no tax increase, as a result of this bond!” (Windham WINS flyer and presentations).

It’s important to understand three points about these statements that may not be clear:

1. The “High Water Mark of FY12” includes the cost for the WHS as well as Windham’s portion for the Kindergarten (after State Aid).

2. Windham Taxpayers paid $1.5M for the Kindergarten (after State Aid).  $626K of that money was raised in 2011 and $900K was raised in 2012.  So the actual “Tax Impact” in 2012 for the Kindergarten was $900K – not the $1.5M that is included in the “High Water Mark” in the chart below.

3. When the Kindergarten project was sold to Windham Taxpayers, we were promised it would be a "one time hit."  But now it is being presented as a benchmark for an “acceptable level of taxation”.

For those who are OK with raising our taxation in this manner, it doesn’t change the fact that the 2012 bar in the chart below inaccurately includes money that was raised in 2011.  Look at the chart and imagine where the top of that 2012 bar would be if it were $626K lower.  THAT is the level of taxes raised in 2012 for school construction… and it is pretty clear it would be BELOW at least five (and maybe more) of the first seven years we would make payments on the proposed $50M+ school project ($31M bond, $20.1M interest, No Chance for State Aid).  That represents a tax increase.

Now imagine where the top of the bar would be if the entire cost of the Kindergarten were eliminated from the 2012 bar – as it should be.  It would be in-between FY11 and FY13.  Then look at the first 13 years of the bond payments for the new school -- and how they are higher than where FY12 should be without the Kindergarten.  That represents a broken promise for a “one time hit”, and another 13 years that our Taxes will be higher than the WHS Construction level of 2012.

Click here to view the Tax Impact chart

BTW, that bar for FY10 in the graph above is for the WHS as well as the final bond payment for the 2000-2001 renovations to WCS and WMS.

For more information on the cost of the proposed New School project, read Part 4 of this series.  For full analysis of the proposed new school, please visit www.WindhamTaxpayers.org.

The Windham Taxpayers Coalition