"Shortly after assuming the role of superintendent of Fayette County Schools, Stu Silberman issued a challenge and an opportunity to all of us to envision what we would like the school district to offer the children of Fayette County. The result was the "2020 Vision," a community exercise in consensus that has become a model for other local leaders, including Mayor Jim Newberry.
Silberman and his team have begun taking steps to create the school district that we as a community have asked for: one that will provide our city with the economic benefits of a well-trained, competitive workforce.
But it's hard to implement a world-class vision when the roof is leaking and the heating doesn't work. The district has identified immediate needs for renovations and repairs at roughly half of Fayette County's public schools, in addition to new construction needs. At present, the district can afford to cover roughly one-tenth of the more than $290 million cost of meeting these needs. As a result, the district is asking for a property tax hike of 5.6 cents per $100 of assessed value, an additional $84 a year for a $150,000 home, to be dedicated to facility needs. That is not the cost of a world-class education, but simply the cost of rebuilding the facilities where a world-class education could happen.
There are many challenges that currently face our educational system on both the state and local level. Our ability to compete for businesses, jobs and economic investment in the future will depend on how well we prepare our next generation of scientists, health care professionals, computer specialists, engineers, entrepreneurs, business owners, political leaders and more. As the district's fiscal picture stands without the increase, the kindergartners at ten local elementary schools who entered their classrooms for the first time earlier this month will have graduated before the district can tend to the needs that it has identified for those elementary schools today.
Thanks to Silberman and the 2020 Vision exercise, we are only starting to see the potential returns that a solid community investment in education could have. We cannot place a number on the value of a top-notch educational system as a recruitment tool and a quality-of-life asset. It is difficult to assess completely the social benefits of building well-prepared and productive citizens for the Bluegrass. However, we are confident that in future decades when the cost-benefit analysis can be completed, the 5.6 cents per $100 of assessed value will indeed seem like pennies on the dollar.
We have the leadership, the vision, and the community support to make our public school system an economic engine for Fayette County. Let's fix the roof, and get on to the business of educating our children.
By the numbers:
Current bonding capacity for Fayette County Public Schools: $27.6 million
Cost of facility needs identified by FCPS: more than $290 million
School property tax rate for 2006/2007: 54.1 cents per $100 of assessed value
School property tax rate for 2007/2008 with proposed increase: 59.5 cents per $100 of assessed value
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