By John Derevlany
There's been quite a bit of bickering and numbers are flying around, but no one in the entire city has been able to tell me how much this upcoming school bond will cost me personally.
I will settle for a rough estimate per $100K. I can't even get that. The School Board site is filled with financial gobbledygook, without any clear answer to this question:
How much will I be paying?
Without any other clear information, I am forced to make up my own estimate, based on the information I do have and understand.
Here is what I know:
I am looking at my 2013 tax bill. The rate for the Unified Schools (that's the 1997 bond) is .031410, or about $31 per $100,000 of assessment. That is $31 per $100K for a $40M bond.
I can only assume a $106M bond would be double or triple that amount. By my estimates, I could be paying as much as $90 per $100K, plus the $31 from the last bond. That is a total of $120 or so per $100K of assessed value for the two bonds.
The County tells me my little house by the freeway is worth $700,000. (I am in the midst of challenging that assessment).
By my calculations I will be paying as much $840 in bond charges next year.
This is not pennies a day for me. It is $840 a year… and growing every year for the rest of my life as my assessment increases. That amount will double over the life of the bond (and then some).
If someone please could give me a straight answer on this cost question, I would greatly appreciate it.
Don't tell me it's only going to cost $48 per $100K, the number I see thrown around on the CCUSD website. That does not make sense. If the $40M bond costs $31 per $100K, it's impossible for a $106M bond to only cost a few dollars more.
Thank you.
Mr. Derevlany may be contacted at jderevlany@yahoo.com
