Re “Putting the School Bond Debt into Perspective”
If Paul Ehrlich and I were to continue, on a bi-weekly basis, to work through the facts on the School Board’s $106M bond, maybe by June’s election our community would have all the pertinent facts to make an informed decision.
Are you up for it, Paul?
Just the Facts
When Mr. Ehrlich wrote, “Now that you have the facts …” Did you understand him to mean all facts or just those that support his position, only the facts he thinks you need to know.
Historically Low Rates
The information on the state’s Education Data website, indeed, shows that the local taxpayers have enjoyed some of the lowest tax rates among the 46 unified school districts and 88 cities in Los Angeles County.
Need-to-Know Basis
Here is a fact Mr. Ehrlich left out of his letter: If the School Board’s $106M bond were to pass, our historically low ratio of debt to assessed valuation would almost quadruple overnight, from 0.4425 percent to 1.747 percent. Perhaps Mr. Ehrlich thought that wasn't a fact the community needed to know since it did not support his own positive viewpoint of the bond.
Mr. Laase may be contacted at GMLaase@aol.com
