Tuesday, January 27, 2009

West Bend School Board Passes Referendum Questions to Voters

Sure enough. 

Pardon the delay: West Bend School District voters will see a two question, $68.85 million referendum on April 7.

   The School Board unanimously made it official at its Monday night meeting, approving the same plan it voted to rescind from last fall’s ballot due to a falling economy.

   Board members cited the district’s growth, condition of its buildings and low interest rates among other elements as to why it is forwarding this plan now.

   Board president Joe Carlson said the cost is lower than the last referendum, a failed $119.3 million plan in fall 2007, and provides a choice with two questions, unlike 2007’s single question.

   Thanks to what could be historically low interest rates, the total cost could total less than $88 million.

   “If we truly are a conservative community ... this is as low as we are able to deliver this,” Carlson said.

Cars are real cheap right now too.  That doesn’t mean that you should go out and buy one - regardless of how much you may “need” one.

(8) Comments
Posted by Owen at 0635 hrs
Politics + Politics - Wisconsin

  1. What a shock! Greedy school board proposes massive referendum while people are losing their jobs by the bucketfull.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 27, 2009 at 1107 hrs


  2. Bill, I hate to disagree, but I don’t think they are greedy, just completely out of touch with reality. School administrators have no respect for normal working people. Feed the monster, feed the monster.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 27, 2009 at 1957 hrs


  3. If you know you’ll need to get a new car 2-3 years from now, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with buying now if you know the financing will save you $2-3K over the term of the loan and you’ll get a higher resale value for your existing vehicle.

    But as Owen alludes to, I think the bigger question is whether the need exists in the forseeable future.  If the need doesn’t exist, then clearly the correct answer on the referendum is no.  If the need does exist now, or will exist in the next 5-10 years, there’s a strong incentive to buy now when rates are low.  But voting no just because the economy is poor right now is nonsensical.

    Posted by Recess Supervisor on January 27, 2009 at 2005 hrs


  4. I think there is little question of need. Unlike many other units of government, the West Bend School District has been very conservative in their spending. By almost any parameter, the District has maintained high standards with minimal cost. We should all be proud of this record. But at some point infrastructure needs must be addressed. In these difficult times, it is important that we don’t stop everything unless we want turn this recession into a depression. Remember that this money stays in the community to employ your neighbors in the construction trades. That beats all the other stimulus ideas I’ve seen.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 27, 2009 at 2121 hrs


  5. RS - you don’t buy a car after you have lost your job - no matter what the price is.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 27, 2009 at 2223 hrs


  6. Well then it’s a good thing that the overwhelming majority of Americans are in no threat of losing their jobs, isn’t it?

    Posted by Recess Supervisor on January 27, 2009 at 2237 hrs


  7. The funny thing is… if the school board had put a more reasonable referendum on the ballot the first time instead of a gargantuan wish list totaling $119.3 million, it probably would have passed.  Gotta strike when the iron is hot.

    Posted by Owen on January 27, 2009 at 2239 hrs


  8. Very true. It was a big mistake, but sadly not really that funny.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 27, 2009 at 2252 hrs


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