There’s a saying that sunlight is the best disinfectant and right now, the Nebo School District needs some disinfectant. With almost no notice, on an off-time, the Nebo district is holding a bond election which will raise taxes an average of $300 per household. In a down economy and trying to sneak it in under the radar is under-handed and just plain wrong. To compound the problem, there are only 7 polling places instead of 30+ and half of those are in different locations.
Royce van Tassel of the Utah Taxpayer’s Association says the June election is an underhanded way of trying to pass a bond without the residents’ participation. If Nebo School District was confident in the measure, they should have waited until November, when voter turnout is sure to be higher. “It seems all too clear”, he said, “that the Nebo School District doesn’t want the taxpayers to weigh in on this.”
So here is a call to action – pick up the phone and call anyone you know in the Nebo district and GET THEM OUT TO VOTE. Then have them get their friends and neighbors to get out and vote. YOU should have a say in how YOUR money is spent!
*To be fair, the Daily Herald has been reporting on this for over 2 months. Unfortunately, no one noticed. I still think Nebo School District is trying to pull a fast one. Again. District administrators said if the citizens voted down their bond, they would be forced to “do alternative things” to deal with the growth. Sounds like a plan to me!
June 22, 2009 at 5:46 pm
Huh, I didn’t know about this. Technically I live in Nebo, but I’m not registered to vote there. But, I’ll let my friends and family know for sure. That’s crazy!
June 22, 2009 at 6:18 pm
Please, please, PLEASE vote NO on this underhanded shenanigan. To find out where you can vote at, please click here. And don’t forget to bring a photo ID.
June 23, 2009 at 7:01 am
Thank you Holly for bringing attention to this important topic. It may be hard to make an impact at the federal level, But we can do it here! Get out and vote no to a secret election to raise yout taxes with no accountability.
June 23, 2009 at 9:08 am
All of these people have jumped to their conclusions based on anything but the facts. First of all, the tax rate for taxpayers will not go up at all for this bond. What they paid last year will be the same with the bond passing. That’s a fact. Next, this bond has been discussed for MONTHS in board meetings and the community. Not one person from any of the papers or the Utah Taxpayers Association attending any of the public hearings about the bond. Also, the legislature is the body that reduced the days that municipalities and districts could bond to two: June and November. Waiting until November puts the building schedule back a whole school year. In the past, February was the best time to bond, but that option was taken away by the legislature. Also, the county refused to do the election until some pressure was put on by a commissioner. Then they quoted Nebo an outrageous cost of $65,000. It is being done by a private company for about $20,000.
These are a few facts that people should know. The people running Nebo district and the board are honorable good people who are trying to do what’s best for students in Nebo district. Not one of the people who have come out so strongly in opposition to this bond have taken the time to view the bond presentation or come to the meetings to discuss their concerns.
June 24, 2009 at 6:59 pm
Debbie, if putting this to a vote in November instead of now puts the new building back a whole year, that is simply poor planning on those who support the bond. That is no excuse for rushing something this important through mid-summer when no one is paying much attention. Send it up in November. I’m a fan of bonding for school development (we don’t spend nearly enough in this state in that respect) but I hope this one crashes and burns out of principle alone.
June 26, 2009 at 8:56 am
Thank you Debbie Swenson. Your points are well taken. It is refreshing to see some clear thinking on this blog for a change.
I find Holly’s comments to be incredible to say the least. Her blog is simply parroting the words of Van Tassel of the Taxpayer’s Association with no clear understanding of the facts or the ramifications of her comments. Some of these facts are:
1) The patrons of the Nebo School District were given more than sufficient notice of the Bond Election by the school district beginning months before the election.
2) The tax RATE to a homeowner in the Nebo School District will not increase. The current rate on a $240,000 home is $302 per year. With the passage of this bond, that RATE will not increase. The term of the bond will simply be extended.
3) The Utah Taxpayer’s Association’s view is incredibly self-centered and narrow minded in opposing an extension of the $302 per year (83 cents per day) on a quarter of a million dollar home.
4) This outrageous tax of 83 cents per day on a quarter of a million dollar home will insure that the students in the Nebo School District have an adequate number of schools to house the growth in the district and will have safe older buildings that have been properly repaired and maintained.
5) Neither Royce van Tassel, Howard Stephenson, nor Curtis Bramble who have vociferously spoken out against the Nebo Bond Election even live within the boundaries of the Nebo School District. It is not their children who will face larger class sizes, overcrowded classrooms, and makeshift portables. They are simply spewing their partisan rhetoric as always with no concern as to the consequences to the real people involved.
6) It is the members of the Nebo School Board who are the elected representatives of the people of the Nebo School District not Van Tassel and the Taxwhiner’s association. This body after months and years of collecting data pertaining to costs and projected enrollment growth used their collective judgment to determine that a bond issue is needed at this time.
7) The president of the Utah Taxpayer’s association has not conducted any study as to the needs of the Nebo School District nor has he attended any of the board meetings or public information meetings at which this information was made available.
For those who want the facts, rather than the narrow minded and self-centered views of “The Taxpayer’s Association” and those who simply parrot their remarks without a genuine understanding of the issues and the facts go to: http://www.nebo.edu/bond/
John Talcott
Retired Teacher Nebo School District