Wrong time for bus proposition
At the request of 120 District 13 residents, there will be a proposition on the May ballot to expand bus service to all students living at least a half-mile from their respective schools. It’s that way now for K-through-3 children, but students in grades 4 through 6 must live at least a mile away to qualify for bus service.
Unfortunately, this proposition couldn’t have come at a worse time.
By law, the district must put it on the ballot, because organizers collected more than the minimum number of signatures required. Additionally, the district’s bus service requirements were initially approved through voter referendum, so changes to the policy can only be requested and approved by the public.
If the proposition is approved, it will add about $296,000 to the 2012-13 budget, according to preliminary cost estimates provided by district officials. In past years, if a similar proposition passed, it was simply added to the budget and the extra money was collected in taxes.
But this year, for the first time, the new tax cap legislation is in effect for school districts, limiting their ability to raise taxes. District 13 will only be able to increase its tax levy about 2 percent, and officials plan to create a budget that meets that requirement.
The bus proposition, however, creates much uncertainty. If it passes, it would push the tax levy increase above 2 percent — an increase of nearly $300,000 on a tax levy of about $30 million is a full percentage point. That’s significant in the new tax-cap era.
And a budget with an increase that exceeds the tax cap needs more than a simple majority to pass. It needs the support of at least 60 percent of voters.
District 13 budgets have not always passed by that large a margin. May 2009 was the last time more than 60 percent of voters said “yes” to a budget, and the percentage is typically in the high 50s.
The state Education Department has yet to issue a ruling on whether the budget would require a supermajority if the bus proposition passes and drives the tax levy increase over the threshold. It’s too much of a risk to take. Passing the budget should be the priority, and this proposition jeopardizes that.
We can only imagine what District 13 officials are thinking. They can’t take a position for or against the proposition. They simply have to fulfill their legal obligation by putting it on the ballot and letting voters decide. But this certainly makes it more difficult for them to prepare a budget.
We’re not arguing the merits of the measure. The district currently provides transportation to students in grades K-3 living at least a half-mile from school and students in grades 4-6 living a mile or farther away. It seems silly to send a bus down the street that can pick up only some of the children going to the same school.
As well, busing helps ease traffic congestion around the schools. It is much safer to have one bus dropping off 30 children than to have 20 cars, each dropping off one or two. We understand the benefits of this proposition. But it’s not the right time.
In 2009, the last time this measure was on the ballot at the request of taxpayers, the Herald stayed neutral. We told voters that they should vote for it if they felt it was an absolute necessity. But given the economic circumstances at the time, we could not fully endorse the proposal.
This year’s proposition comes at an even worse time, when it could actually impact the success of the budget. Voters need to understand the real ramifications that it could have — and the educational opportunities that could be lost if the budget fails. Did the 120 people who signed the petition know that better bus service could come at the expense of valued programs?
It’s the first year of the untested tax-cap legislation, and there is still too much that is unknown about the legal requirements. In a year when there are more questions than answers, this proposition just creates more questions.
