Dear Editor,
I would like to address a few things regarding the Shepherd School bond issue. I’ve attended a meeting at the school and talked to different people, both for and against. Not all were fully informed.
Our property taxes are $2250 per year. With the proposed increase they would be $2858 per year. That’s an extra $50 per month for the next 20 years. This also works out to be a 27% increase. This also doesn’t take into account any other increases caused by our being reappraised every two years. I’ve never heard anybody mention this percentage in all of the talk about it. Whether you are for or against it, we need to be open about the full impact. When you vote to approve this, because you think you can afford it, you are also voting to impose it on your neighbor. Their finances, may place them in a much more precarious position than you. Through no fault of their own they may have high medical bills or other unforeseen expenses that create an extreme hardship financially.
I was also struck by Mr. Carter’s statement that he had no plan for a scenario where this vote fails. I would simply disagree with his approach to leading the school. This vote may certainly fail. It failed last time with over 60% opposition. Whether you agree with that or not, I believe the responsible thing to do is plan for the very possibility of that happening. He simply stated that we will pay through permissive levies if we don’t pass this bond.
I would say that Becky Anderson and Jeff Kanning represented their interests well at the meeting I went to. Becky Anderson said that no matter the outcome, we need to be good neighbors afterword. A classy statement and something that we could all learn from. It’s obvious that the school has issues that need addressed. I don’t think people that want this whole package are bad people. I simply don’t agree with the expense of it. Other ideas have been put forth that may be less perfect but also cost a lot less. I don’t believe that makes me a bad person either.
Richard Morris
Shepherd, MT
