No on schools

After attending the Measure B6/C6 Information Night on May 4, a couple of observations need to be made.

First, although the Oak Park School District has legitimate needs to fix real problems, they're also asking for a lot of money for frivolous items.

They need money to fix leaking roofs, but they also want money for digital TVs. They need money to fix plumbing fixtures, but they also want schools to have WiFi networks. They need money to repair earthquake-damaged classrooms, but they also want money for indoor cardio-exercise rooms. They want digital chalkboards so teachers won't have to write too much and automatic voting batons so that students don't have to raise their hands.

They claim that whole new science labs are needed, but the only reason given is because some power plugs need additional grounding ports, something an electrician can remedy for a few dollars.

What is the district going to do when the novelty of a WiFi network is pass because GigabitEthernet comes along and makes the 802.11b protocol a dinosaur in a couple years? Will they ask for another bond?

Second, their calculations are all based on the overly optimistic assumption that property values will stay high or even increase. What they dismiss is the fact that

if property values go down, your taxes will have to go up to compensate for the loss in revenue.

Also, they try to minimize the impact to your tax budget by saying that the bonds simply extend the average property tax from the past 10 years. This is deception. What is really happening is that they're defining a new minimum where your property taxes can never go below the historical average. The average will necessarily be higher from now on.

Vote no on both B6 and C6. Force the district to come clean with its budget. Make them identify what's really needed to educate the students of Oak Park and not spend money on toys, gimmicks and trinkets that offer no value-add. Are you paying for a good education or a country club? Tim MacAndrew Oak Park