Week+Three+Part+5

If it is not already obvious through the previous activities in this week’s assignment, district one is a property poor school district. The total taxable value of property within district one is just under $146 million while the taxable value of property within district two is almost $3 billion. That translates into abysmal local tax collections in district one as compared to that of district two. Taxpayers in both districts could have equal tax rates but those tax rates will raise substantially different amounts of revenue intended to educate roughly the same amount of students. District two was able to collect $8.8 million in I&S tax collections while district one was able to collect only $94,000. Without considerable – almost complete – aide from outside the district, district one will not be able to raise enough revenue to maintain physical plant operations or to replace or repair the current facilities. With current construction costs for a new elementary school ranging from $8 to $15 million, the outlook for district one’s facilities is bleak. The District One Chapter 46 Existing Debt Allotment total is $572,716 while district two collected nothing. This indicates that district two had no existing debt during the previous biennium and points to the district’s financial health and ability to service their own debt. District one is completely dependent on state aide to have the ability to build new facilities while district two can do so almost at-will. One need not have a complete understanding of school finance to imagine that the facilities in district one are probably in much poorer condition than the facilities in district two. District two has the ability to respond to developments in education that require changes or updates in facilities much more readily than district one.