Tomorrow’s Vote
at 6:44 pm on Monday, 5 November 2007
You’ve seen the signs…
VOTE YES!
VOTE NO!
But what are they talking about? Well, here’s the skinny on tomorrow’s vote:
Those of us who live in Richland/Lexington School District 5 will be voting on a bond referendum that will allow the District to build a new high school, middle school and elementary school as well as renovate several existing schools. The amount of money needed for this…$256.5 million. The cost to you…about $40 in annual property taxes per $100,000 in house value over the next 20 years.
It is estimated that District 5 grows by approximately 300 students per year. Have you seen all of the portable buildings in the parking lot of Irmo High? Did you know that each one of those portable buildings costs about $50,000? I drive by there everyday and I feel like something has to be done. District 5 has a reputation for being one of the best in the state. If we want that to continue we need to keep the class sizes down and the learning environment positive.
Here’s how I see it: My property taxes dropped by 43% this year because of the new law that removed the cost of the day-to-day operation of schools from our property taxes.  So, that makes my vote of YES that much easier. I know that one day in the not-so-distant future I’m going to have kids going to these schools and I don’t want them to be in a portable building. I know you don’t want my kids to be in a portable building either–so VOTE YES!
Also, as a Realtor, I know that simply being in District 5 raises the value of a house because of this reputation. So, even if you don’t have kids in school – VOTE YES!