DISTRICT CLAIMS MAILER MISLEADING WHEN SOME INFO MAY HAVE BEEN TAKEN FROM ITS OWN WEBSITE On Wednesday, the Springfield NewsLeader reported on the controversy surrounding the Reasons To Vote No mailer sent anonymously by a concerned citizen. Did the NewsLeader investigate the claims made in the mailer or rely solely on the Willard School Districts rebuttal? Prior to the controversy, the only figure publicly available on the districts website regarding current bonded indebtedness was $44,980,000. That figure can still be found under the About Us link on the districts homepage as part of a document entitled Know Your Schools under the section heading Finances and Taxes. From the document: The current bonded indebtedness is $44,980,000. Federal revenue accounts for 7%. State revenue accounts for 43% of the total school district revenue. Local revenue accounts for approximately 50% of the funds. Over 45% of the revenue is spent for instructional purposes. Adding the $15.2 million proposed bond amount to the figure on the districts website totals $60,180,000. The mailer lists $60,000,000 Total Debt as a reason to Vote No. Could this be how the concerned citizen arrived at $60 million dollars in Total Debt as a reason to Vote No? The districts rebuttal of the mailer states The districts real net indebtedness is approximately $33 million, not the much higher amount in the mailer. According to the June 30, 2014 independent auditors report the district currently owes $45 million in bonds. However, the audit also shows that $12 million of that is in an escrow account earning interest and awaiting the completion of a refinancing process...When that process is complete the total debt will be less than $33 million. Were the adjusted figures from the rebuttal available on the districts website prior to the controversy? Or, did the anonymous concerned citizen arrive at the $60 million dollar figure based on the document from the districts website? Passage of the $15.2 million bond would allow raising the districts net indebtedness from $33 million to approximately $48 million. The addition of $12 million...in an escrow account would total approximately $60 million dollars in bonds. Again, from the districts rebuttal: The districts real net indebtedness is approximately $33 million, not the much higher amount in the mailer. The district claims that the $60,000,000 Total Debt figure from the mailer is misleading. But, the document on the districts website states that the district has current bonded indebtedness of $44,980,000. And, that document fails to mention the adjusted figures from the rebuttal. If the $60 million dollar figure from the mailer is misleading, the district itself may share in the blame. Link to the NewsLeader article: news-leader/story/news/education/2014/10/29/willard-rebuts-misleading-claims-bond-issue-flier/18146699/
Posted on: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 18:30:14 +0000
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