FACT CHECK: Con Statement 4A

TRUE: This increase will ratchet taxes back up to the 2007 bond redemption rate. TRUE - The District assessed property tax of $1,043,829 for debt repayment in 2007. Since then, the District has not collected over $1 million.

The current master plan estimates costs to renovate FMS between $7-$10 million. The District is asking the taxpayers to increase debt by $14.5M with repayment over $26 million.

TRUE: This is just the beginning; the current bond is to pay for ONE of four phases. The master plan contemplates receipt of an additional $22-25 million in funding. ADDITIONAL bond approvals and debt will be required. TRUE - The current funding request is to complete Phase 3. According to the District's master plan Phase 4 which will result in an addition at the high school and elimination of the current District building is estimated to cost between $22-25 million.

Enrollment continues to decline in buildings that are currently at less than 50% capacity.

The District would like to spend over $19,000 per student for renovation.

FALSE: Instead of moving to consolidate the middle school and high school with estimated renovation costs of $300,000 and estimated savings of $149,000/year, the Board approved expenditures of $1,861,895 for Pre-K to generate savings of $9,000/year. The building being renovated for Pre-K is slated for demolition as part of the master plan. FALSE - The Board has approved the following costs in connection with the PreK renovation:

Artaic Owner's Rep $73,915

RTA Architects $126,000

GH Phipps $1,787,980

Total = $1,987,895

TRUE: There are 691 students the District needs to accommodate. The capacity of the high school is 800. Total building capacity is 1,650. TRUE - Recommended capacity per the 2015 Bond Document

The District did not apply for and failed to obtain a BEST grant which would have paid for up to 30% of the capital expenditures.

TRUE: The District eliminated its financial accountability oversight committee, preferring a finance committee with no oversight. Since this change, no recommendation or reports have been received by the board from the new committee. The District has failed for years to be compliant to the current bond stipulations such as maintaining a formal capital projects list and annually posting Audited Financial Statements to Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB). TRUE - The District failed to file Financial Disclosures as required by their current bond document from 2018-2021 until January 2022.

TRUE and FALSE: The District would like taxpayers to pay for HVAC and IT improvements. Over $870,000 in federal ESSER III funds were provided for these purposes in connection with pandemic relief. The District squandered these funds on a resurfaced track and digital signs; now they want more taxpayer money. TRUE and FALSE - According to Ashley Stephen's the District Business Services Director, "Major expenditures tied to ESSR and COVID relief funding for FY 2022 included....HVAC improvements for the FMS Campus". The FMS campus' HVAC system was red-tagged at the beginning of the school year in August 2023.

In violation of state statute, the District’s actual expenditures in two areas exceeded appropriations during the 2023 fiscal year. The Board approved a deficit budget for 2024 with no plan or explanation to ensure future financial stability.

With unprecedented increases in our property valuations which generates more local funding for the District, inadequate fiscal management by leadership, and continual enrollment decline, it is incomprehensible how the District can justify requesting more funding from the all-ready cash strapped taxpayers of the District.