OPINION: Contrary to the two Levy Committee mailers you received, the claim of "no new taxes" is incorrect. According to the District's unaltered website FAQ, Proposition No. 3, "Construction Levy" is a new tax (part of which replaces expiring debt.)
If Proposition No. 3 (Construction Levy) passes, we will be taxed $0.42 / $1,000 Assessed Value. Assuming a home is conservatively assessed at $900,000,000 the tax would be $378.00 for year 2023. Prop. No. 3 is a 6-year levy and by 2028 will have increased to $0.53/$1,000 Assessed Value.
In my opinion, the Prop. No. 3 Construction Levy is inexpensive for what we get. Please vote "yes!"
The two other levies (Prop. No. 1 and Prop. No. 2) are "replacement levies" with no new taxes.
The organization disseminating the mailers of "no new taxes" is the LW Citizens Levy Committee, a non profit known publicly as "vote4lwsdkids.org." I was taken in by their disinformation and I'm very disappointed. The District and Levy Committee seem too cozy and in this election the Levy Committee appears tainted. *Note their top donors.
-- Bob Yoder, opinion, updated 1/30/2022
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*Top 5 donors to the Levy Committee build schools: 1) Cornerstone General Contractors, 2) BNB Builders, 3) Integurs Architecture, 4) Bassetti Architects, and 5) McGranahan Architects...all with interest in passing Proposition No. 3 any which way they can.
Cornerstone Contractors built Juanita High.
BNB built Clara Barton Elementary School
Integrus Architecture designed: Telsa STEM, Juanita, Benjamin Rush, Rachel Carson.
Who has a home valued at $900 million?
ReplyDeleteThree homes in our neighborhood sold for $1.2, $1.45, and $1.2 - and there's nothing special about them other than a great location next to schools and parks.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteMore disinformation: The school district isn't allowed to send levy mailers.
Hi Mr. Yoder,
I just want to confirm that the mailer that you received from LWSD is this version: LWSD Mailer Web (finalsite.net). There was another mailer from the Lake Washington Citizens Levy Committee that arrived at homes around the same time that I believe you may have confused as the district’s mailer. If you have questions about the contents of their mailer, I would encourage you to reach out to them directly.
Sincerely,
Shannon
LWSD Director of Communications
Hi Director Parthemer -
ReplyDeleteYou should know I haven't received your District mailer as of 1/28/2022. I hope I'm not the only case. I did get a Levy Committee mailer about 2 weeks ago, so I wasn't confused.
Today (1/28) I got a second Levy mailer "yelling" NO NEW TAXES. I challenge this claim because ONLY PART of the rate is delegated to replacing expiring debt. The rest is a tax.
I looked on your site to find this information but it was removed.
As for reaching out to the Levy Committee I can't. They don't publish a phone number or email address on their mailers. I did see the TOP 5 DONORS to the Levy Committee are builders and architects, all of which have done significant business with you. Shannon, as having special interest, I can't trust the "facts" on their brochures.
I know I'm nick picking but it's the principle that counts.
I and my wife with vote for all 3 Levies. I'm counting on my blogging efforts to bring in more positive votes. Personally, I'm 95% sure the measures will pass. Moving on....
Apparently, my wife didn't vote for any of the levies. The District needs to transmit ACCURATE levy information to the LW levy committee! And once transmitted OVER-SEE the committee to be sure they don't warp the facts! In this case, the District dropped the ball!
ReplyDeleteI was following the promotional mailers touting NO NEW TAXES, when in fact there is a new tax per FAQ.
I could have reported this malfeasance to King County Elections prior to certification but didn't want to risk the chance of a failed election.
The District needs to get with the program or it will bite them later.