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Tuesday, January 25, 2005

'Stakes Are High' For APS' $218.6 Million Tax Levy

By Russell Contreras
Journal Staff Writer
    Highland High School needs repairs to its music building. Lowell Elementary needs restroom renovations.
    The West Side needs a new high school. The far Northeast Heights needs a new elementary.
    A week from today, Albuquerque Public Schools will ask voters to approve a five-year, $218.6 million tax levy that would generate money for capital projects throughout the district.
    The levy would keep the district's share of property taxes at the same rate— $3.874 per $1,000 of net taxable value. For a home worth $150,000, that's $16.03 a month, APS spokesman Rigo Chavez said.
    If the tax is approved, the state would provide $53 million in matching money to help pay for school construction and renovations.
    If it's voted down, APS officials say they will have no money to make repairs to aging schools, leaving many with malfunctioning heating and cooling systems. Roofing and construction orders will be delayed, officials say.
    They say the district may have to look at year-round scheduling and redistricting to combat overcrowding.
    "The stakes are high," said Brad Winter, director of the district's Capital Master Plan. "We need this (tax) levy."
    According to APS brochures, 47 percent of the money would go into new construction, and 33 percent would go toward facility maintenance and repairs. The rest would go into school-based technology, science lab equipment, musical instruments, library materials and athletic equipment.
    The push for the tax levy comes after a citizens oversight report faulted APS for wasting tax dollars on capital projects from the 2003 bond election.
    The report, submitted by the Community Oversight Committee last month, said APS spent 20 to 50 percent more per square foot to design and build schools than other districts comparable in size. The report also said APS took too long to complete projects.
    District officials were quick to embrace parts of the report and said they would use it to make operations more efficient. But they disputed some of the findings, including the charge that APS spends more per square foot than other districts.
    Winter said comparing APS to districts in other states is unfair because states have different labor laws, and that influences costs.
    Maureen M. Walter, president of the Albuquerque charter of the American Institute of Architects, came to the district's defense, saying the report made "generalized conclusions" based on inaccurate information.
    Lars J. Sego, chairman of the oversight committee, said that despite the criticisms, the six-member committee endorses the APS tax levy.
    The Albuquerque Teachers Federation and the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce also endorsed it.
    David Grieves, co-chair of "Yes for Our Children's Future," a group organized to push the tax levy, said he hasn't seen much fallout from the report. Grieves said the group has so far raised more than $40,000 to promote the tax levy and expects to have about $50,000 by Friday.
    "That's about average," Grieves said.
    APS Superintendent Elizabeth Everitt said the district's campaign to get the word out about the tax levy is going well. She said this week radio ads will begin to air on local stations.
    In addition, Everitt said "Yes for Our Children's Future" is helping to distribute 2,500 signs and 30,000 mailed fliers.
    The tax levy question is the first of four upcoming APS elections for capital projects for 2006 to 2011. Next year, voters will be asked to approve a bond question. APS will hold another tax levy question in 2007 and another bond election in 2009.
    APS hopes to raise a total of $454.25 million for capital projects from all four elections.
    If next week's tax levy is approved, APS would begin the first phase of a new Northwest high school. Funds would also be used for a new Southwest elementary school.
    Both schools, which are scheduled to open within two or three years, would need money from additional APS elections.
    The new far Northeast Heights elementary school is scheduled to open within two years.
    Four APS board seats will also be on the Feb. 1 ballot.