Property Tax Article & Schools Article Draw Conflicting comments

To all COLA LO Members,

Last week two articles were published that were quite critical to the future of our community.   The first article provided important information about funding for the LO school District throughout the area.  LOSD district boundaries are outside the city limits and include various homes in county areas.   

An article last week provided detailed information indicating that 1/3 of all homes within the district are now valued at less than their assessed value.   That means that 1/3 of  homeowners will see their property taxes reduced and that they will no longer need to contribute the full amount of taxes to the school district local option levy.   

Other property owners will still need to pay the full levy and may effectively be subsidizing the 1/3 that have lower valuations in terms of paying a higher total amount toward LOSD funding.  Its a matter for detailed review in the future.

The article can be found at:   Local Option

In a second article details are provided about the LOSD attempting to attract more students as enrollment continues to decline.    Online comments show a disparity in views of what needs to be done versus recent decisions including plan B.    The article can be found at:   LOSD Attracting More Students?

LOSD accepted nearly $2 million in funds from the city this year.   All of those funds are coming from  residents within the City.  These residents are paying higher taxes than those outside the City boundaries but within the LOSD boundaries. 

So far this discussion and the details have not been presented to the public.   School District Boundaries can be found at:  LOSD Boundary map . A city versus LOSD map can be found at:  LO City Comparative map

Its anticipated that the LOSD will once again request additional funding from the City in 2012.  Ratings agencies have questioned the City regarding this commitment in a recent bond issuance.    In any case with state revenue forecasts declining it appears that LOSD funding will be under pressure once again next year.  

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends of these critical articles and their issues.