- Mobile Edition - Mobile EditionI have made the argument that government, at all levels, needs to control its spending. I always have stood against pork-barrel spending, backroom deals, special-interest groups and no accountability from our elected officials.
Two years ago, I proposed cutting our spending and looking for ways to save money at Durango School District 9-R. I was met with opposition. We were spending tens of thousands of dollars on legal fees, consultants, retreats, seminars and conferences. I didn't go to the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs because I thought the money could be better utilized in our classrooms.
Of the nine county taxing entities, 9-R takes almost half and has the single-highest property-tax levy. The district has almost $10 million in savings, and the board easily can free up $8 million of that with a motion and a vote. Given our current financial situation at 9-R, we could stretch our budget for another four or five years without a mill levy increase. If we cut 2 percent from our budget across the board, we could go another five or six years. This gives us time to pay down our bond indebtedness and streamline our unnecessary spending.
How much will 9-R spend on marketing firms and consultants to “make you feel guilty" so you vote for a mill levy override? How much is it going to cost to get it on the ballot with a 52 percent chance it will fail?
I am no stranger to standing alone on the school board, but we talk about how the students will suffer if we don't raise taxes. That is not true. The students will suffer more in the long run because, historically, inflation follows higher taxes, and the students and their children will be left holding the bill, with no jobs, in a bankrupt country.
District 9-R would be better off financially if we went from a seven-member board to a five-member board. We should let the voters decide that in November.
Padraig Lynch, 9-R board member, Durango