Opinion
A4
Tuesday, April 12, 2022
OUR VIEW
Voters should
approve school
bond measure
rea voters should support a proposed
$4.845 million bond for the La Grande
School District in the May 17 election
A
for a host of reasons, including the fact that an
investment in education is never a bad idea.
No one likes to pay more taxes and, let’s face
it, for many of us it seems like there are always
plenty of government hands trying to get into our
wallets.
Having recognized that, it is crucial for voters
to remember that funding specifi c government
entities — such as school districts or police and
fi re services — is an essential investment.
The new bond will help pay for the construc-
tion of an academic and athletic center and would
fi nally replace the old Annex building next to the
La Grande Middle School.
Passage of the bond means a few good things
for district patrons. For one, the state will match
the $4.845 with $4 million as part of the Oregon
School Capital Improvement Matching program.
Also, passage of the bond will not raise tax rates
among property owners because of a recent refi -
nancing of a previous bond approved by voters in
2014.
Both of those points are distinctive. Approval
of the bond means extra money from the state
and means a homeowner won’t pay more taxes.
That’s a hard scenario to overlook. Rarely,
in fact, do so many intangibles line up in such
a manger to create new infrastructure for our
schools without adding to residents’ tax bills.
Our schools are important to the overall health
and viability of our community. Just as our police
and fi re services need the best equipment to do
their jobs, our educators require the best in terms
of infrastructure that voters can provide.
That means fi nding the most cost-eff ective way
to provide the best environment for our youth to
learn and grow.
The proposed bond is a way to accomplish
some mighty goals with little, or no, impact on
patrons and property owners.
Education is our pathway to the future. We
must always keep in mind that the passage of a
bond is not only about the youth in our school
system now but also very much about future
students.
EDITORIALS
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YOUR VIEWS
Replacing the worn-out
Annex is the only option
The proposed school district bond
is community-supported, it is needed
and it is fi scally conservative.
As many of you know, La
Grande Little League uses the
Annex, on the La Grande Middle
School grounds, on a yearly basis to
run tryout and batting practices. In
the future, we hope to be running
camps throughout the year so that
children are around baseball and
softball all year and not just in the
spring.
The current Annex school
building is worn-out. Replace-
ment is more cost-eff ective and the
only option for this building. As
we had tryouts on March 12 at the
LMS Annex, parents were amazed
at the quality of the building. The
ceiling is falling down, and there
are only stairs to get in and out of
the building, which made it harder
for many of our older guests. The
overall quality of the building is
devastating when you look at our
community and the pride that we
take.
The LMS Annex is an area where
children should feel supported and
protected when they are at practices,
camps or other school activities, not
a place where they could truly get
physically hurt.
Also, if you have ever tried
to schedule a baseball or soft-
ball practice, then you know there
is a shortage of places to do so.
When you have so many wonderful
sporting activities running during
the year, with such a wonderful
turnout of children, it is abundantly
clear that this space needs to be
replaced so we have more gyms for
these activities.
So, a Yes vote for the bond is
appropriate. It will cost millions of
dollars less than maintaining what is
left of the Annex now, it will allow
the school to off er more programs
and reach a more diverse group of
students, and also allow outside
organizations a chance to off er more
programs for the community.
Please join La Grande Little
League in voting Yes for the La
Grande Middle School Annex Bond
Measure 31‐105.
Brooke Hewitt, president
La Grande Little League
Bottom line: Taxpayers
will be paying an extra $4M
I am a local taxpaying cit-
izen within the La Grande School
District. I am voting No on the
upcoming school bond proposal in
May.
We have been assured by school
offi cials that the passage of this bond
would not raise our current taxes. It
was explained that the current bond
loan could be refi nanced, so that the
current tax payments, when added
to the new bond payments, would
not result in a raised tax rate. This
is misleading and deceptive to the
voters in my opinion.
What we are not being told and
what I have not been able to ascer-
tain (at the time this letter was
written) is how many more years we
will be paying the current tax rate
to pay this bond off . In my experi-
ence, when I have refi nanced a loan,
if I want lower payments, the dura-
tion of the loan is extended, can be
fi ve years, 10 years, etc. This infor-
mation has not been included in my
readings by the proponents of this
bond passage.
If for example, this bond measure
is passed, and the refi nance extends
the current bond for another fi ve
years, I personally will be paying
an additional $7,500 until the bond
is ended. If extended for 10 more
years, I will be paying an additional
$15,000. Now you say, well, it didn’t
raise your tax rate.
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We must work together to
protect our liberties
I woke up today and it was
raining — not mortar shells.
The birds were singing — not air
raid sirens.
Our children went to school —
not fearful, misplaced or without a
father.
We drove to work — not in a line
of vehicles escaping, or no work at
all.
I went to the grocery store — the
shelves were full, not empty.
I came home, did some spring
cleaning — I had a home to clean.
I fi xed dinner for my family —
I had a family that was safe and
together.
We grumble and complain about
this and that, but we aren’t leaving
a country we grew up in, raised our
family in, believed in. Not knowing
if we would ever be able to return,
and if we did, what destruction we
would have to rebuild.
We are spoiled Americans. May
it never happen to us. May we stay
vigilant and not let government take
us over, because it could happen.
Let’s be strong, work together, not
divided, and be thankful every day
for what we have.
Judi Richter
Elgin
STAFF
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The enticing $4 million grant
that could be gained by the suc-
cessful passage of an additional $4
million from local taxpayers still
results in adding $4 million to the
taxpayers. If the school district has a
magic method for adding $4 million
through the passage of this bond,
without raising tax rates and/or
extending more years to the paying
off of the bond, then we want to hear
what that is, and we will all jump to
get on that wagon.
Phil Myer
La Grande
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