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March, 19, 2007
A NO vote to BBCHS April 17 referenda is a vote for a fair and equitable funding plan for needed classrooms for our children now and into the future.
Property taxes billed and payable to BBCHS in 1996 for operating the district was $5,009,409. The enrollment that fall was 1,627 students. Now in 2006, 10 years later property taxes billed and payable was $9,219,549. This an 84.1% increase over 10 years. Enrollment in the fall of 2006 was 2,096. A 28.8% increase over the same 10 year period. Property taxes for operating BBCHS have already gone up nearly 3 times as much as the enrollment has.
The April 17 referenda question will be for raising property taxes to pay for a $41,655,000 first phase of a new school on land which has 4000 acres of farm land draining onto it. This will require a large lake to be dug. A cost saving alternative would have been to build on property they already own at Bethel & Career Center Rd. This proposed school will cost 3.3 times as much as Liberty School which was completed August, 2005. Liberty School like the proposed school is built to handle 700 students.
The best alternative until proper impact fees are collected to help pay for a new building would be to have seniors attend classes from 7:00 A M to 1:00 PM. with extra curricular activities in the afternoon or the opportunity to work a job. Juniors would attend afternoon classes from 1:30 PM to 7:30 PM with extra curricular activities in the AM or the opportunity to work a job. This would be a win win situation for teachers, students and taxpayers. Teachers who teach juniors or seniors would either have the afternoon or morning off. This is no different then what goes on at Kankakee Community College or many other high schools in the country! The above could be reversed with the same effect. Freshman and sophomores would continue to attend classes on their current schedule. This means only three grade levels would be in the building at one time. Parking problems would be solved and portable classrooms would not be needed.
Little or no impact fees are currently being collected. Did you know the Bourbonnais Village Board has given their OK to hundreds of acres for residential development without any impact fees to help pay for new classrooms that will be needed thereby targeting all of us to pay for new schools for these developments?
Bourbonnais, Bradley, BBCHS and St. George schools must work together along with their respective villages to raise impact fees. Developers pay their fair share through impact fees for roads, sewers and water. School buildings are also infrastructure. Those who are profiting from growth must pay the costs of growth. The schools, village governments and developers have failed to work together for the interest of the children long term. Their short sited plan of forcing the costs of growth back on current residents and business through huge property tax increase referenda every two or three years is not sustainable.
We must vote NO to the BBCHS referenda this April 17 to force the schools, village governments and developers to sit down together to create a new plan for fair and equitable funding of new classrooms for the planned 6,000 homes already on the books. A NO vote to this BBCHS referenda is a vote for a fair and equitable funding plan for needed classrooms for our children now and into the future.