By Alex Offerdahl, Stevensville
As a member of the Stevensville FFA Alumni Association I am writing this letter to urge our community to support the Stevensville School District bonds.
If you have not had the opportunity to look over the proposed improvements to our schools, I would strongly encourage you to do so. I think you will be impressed. There were some major changes relative to the bond that failed last year. In addition to addressing some long overdue maintenance and upgrades to the campus, the new bond includes funding for an Agricultural and Industrial Trades and Technology center.
Quality schools are an economic engine for our community. We believe the new center will address an urgent need in our valley. The students who choose to utilize the programs the center will host will learn immediately employable skills and prepare for careers in agriculture and trades jobs without amassing large amounts of college debt.
While we all understand that education is an investment with tremendous returns for our community, it is important to consider the costs to taxpayers. Many of us in the agriculture community have seen land prices climb rapidly in recent years and we have been concerned about how much the bond will end up costing us. I have looked into it in detail and I was pleasantly surprised. The levy for the bonds is based on Ravalli County taxable assessed values, not on a potential sale or purchase price. Agricultural properties are assessed at a much lower rate than residential properties because taxes are based on production instead of land value.
Taxes will differ for every particular property, but there is an easy way to find out exactly how much more you will pay when the bond is passed. Visit the site: stevensvilleschools.org/2019-school-bond/ and you will find specific instructions to find the taxable value of your property and the implications of the bond. The tools are easy to use. I have walked a number of friends through the process and they have all been pleasantly surprised by the answers we have found. When it comes down to it, the investment is small and our kids are worth it.
I encourage you to help our students prepare for a future of employment and provide local businesses the workers they need. Vote yes.