Twenty-five years ago, Manchester Community Schools decided to renovate Manchester High School. The original plan was to remodel and add space to the academic areas of the building built in 1960. At the public hearing prior to the Board of School Trustees considering approval of that project, patrons successfully asked that a performing arts center be added to the plan.
The board approved that addition, increasing the size of the project from $10 million to $13.1 million. There was no remonstrance filed against that project and the result was a “want” that has served Manchester students and the community very well. Students and families have been attracted to Manchester because of that facility, and many students have had experiences there that carried over into post-secondary successes and careers.
That $13.1 million project would cost $22.8 million today. The interest rate was 6.5 percent for those 20-year bonds, compared to 4.7 percent projected for the currently proposed project largely centered around facility improvements to provide enhancements for student experiences that can be compared to the addition of a performing arts facility in 1993.
That project 25 years ago increased the tax rate $1.92 per hundred dollars. At that time, however, property taxes were figured differently — all property was assessed and then divided by three for tax purposes. In other words, if a property’s net assessed value (the assessed value that taxes are paid on) was $45,000, the tax rate applied to one-third of that assessment, or $15,000. Under today’s methods, that increase of $1.92 would translate to $0.64, still very significantly higher than the rate being proposed for the project included in the Manchester Community Schools referendum.
If the community could support that size project then (and the bonds were paid off without any thought of default), the community can support the current project in the same manner.
We encourage you to vote YES for the capital project referendum on the ballot for this election.
