Vote no on Arlington schools bond and levy

For the fourth time in two years, the Arlington School District is proposing a bond ($91 million) to be repaid over 21 years.

Homeowners are still paying a 20-year school construction bond. If this proposal passes, we will add another 21 years of bond payments – or 41 consecutive years – without a break.

The district claims the bond will cost an average of “approximately $0.90” per $1,000 of assessed value. That comes to $297 per year for the average $329,000 city home and $413 for the average $459,000 unincorporated area home each year for the next 21 years. Some will pay less, others much more.

The District is also proposing a new capital levy for 2021 through 2024, in addition to the bond, at rates between $1.13 and $1.15 per thousand.

The county states that other property taxes in Arlington city will be going up 7.2 percent and in the unincorporated areas 10 percent in 2020. That represents an additional $200 per year for the average city home and $459 per year for the average unincorporated area home. Those increases will not likely be reduced next year when the new bond goes into effect.

“Repeated recruitment attempts” to obtain an “against” statement? I submitted one for the February 2019 pamphlet, my contact info has not changed and I heard from no one.

Give yourself some tax relief. Please vote no on the Arlington School bond (Prop. 3).

Joseph Amma

Arlington