Q: I am worried that we don’t have the tax base to support a west side district.
A: The majority of funding for a school district comes from the weighted pupil unit (WPU) which is state funding attached to each student. Because the west side has such high student enrollment, we are projected to have an annual $21 million surplus. Property taxes are about 23% of a district budget, but with growing residential and commercial development, we will have a strong tax base.
Q: I love the new emphasis in the district on the arts and specialties. Will this continue in a new district? What will happen to programs like Dual Language Immersion (DLI) and the gifted and talented programs?
A: School board members help dictate budget priorities. The best way to determine the value put on programs is to vet school board candidates. DLI and gifted are sustainable programs if enough students participate in them. This has less to do with district size and more about how many students choose to access these programs.
Q: We have so much growth coming our way! How will we be able to afford it all?
A: The cheapest way to build schools is through General Obligation (GO) bonds. The west side area supported the last bond even though it failed in other areas of the district. With support from residents, we can build our needed schools on a faster timetable. With our surplus, we can also potentially move to paying for elementary schools with cash and only bond for secondary schools.
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