GRIZ BEAR COMMENTS: Gentry voters have choice to make Tuesday

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

— Voters living within the Gentry School District will have the opportunity to weigh in next Tuesday on restructuring current bonded debt to free up money to build a multi-purpose athletic complex on the high school campus.

At the annual school election Sept. 18, voters will consider the issuance of $3,600,000 in bonded debt to retire the March 1 and Aug. 1, 2002, bonds and provide approximately $3,000,000in project funds for the new athletic facility without any increase in the current millage rate used to collect taxes from property owners within the district.

It is estimated that a sports complex meeting the district’s needs can be built for a price tag of $3 million or less.

By refinancing existing bonds and adding the new debt, the new facility could be built with annual district bond payments close to thecurrent annual payments for fiscal years 2013 to 2015; paying about $170,000 more than current scheduled bond payments in years 2016 to 2034; and $589,000 more in years 2035 to 2037 when other existing bond payments would have been $0.

On the plus side of restructuring the bonds is obtaining a new athletic facility which could be used for indoor physical education classes, sports practices, band practice and more when the weather outside is unsuitable. The facility would, no doubt, see much use and be of great benefit to students in Gentry Schools, both for physical education classes and for practices in preparation for sports competition.

Though it is a school facility, the benefits for other community sports programs and events, such as those sponsored by the Gentry Youth Organization, will be great.

Add to that, the draw having such a facility might have on people considering the Gentry area as a place to live and raise a family.

Residents, too, won’t have to pay higher property taxes to obtain this new facility. The measure is to restructure bonded debt and not to ask for more mills.

On the negative side is the fact that nothing is free. Though the restructuring plan won’t raise taxes and is expected to realize some savings because of lower interest rates, it will extend the district’s debt; and some may wish to avoid additionaldebt and focus on debt reduction and savings toward a new school campus in the future, and especially so after the recent experiences under the state designation of being in fiscal distress.

Gentry Schools superintendent Randy Barrett has emphasized that this is a step in the district’s overall building plans which will benefit all of Gentry’s students and the entire community for years to come. A new high school campus and locating all four campuses on Pioneer Lane are in district long-range plans too but still a number of years out.

Perhaps the real question to consider before going into the voting booth is whether the multi-purpose facility is truly needed and for thegood of Gentry students and the community. If that answer is yes, there may never be a more affordable time to build than the present. But then, there is always the concern over extending debt and not knowing with certainty what the future holds for Gentry and the Gentry School District.

Voters in Gentry’s school district may cast their ballot between 7:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 18, at the Gentry United Methodist Church, located on the corner of South Collins Ave. and South First Street in Gentry.

Randy Moll is the managing editor of the Westside Eagle Observer. He may be reached by email at rmoll@ nwaonline.com.

Opinion, Pages 6 on 09/12/2012