What's $51 a year?
One month's cell phone bill.
A steak dinner for two.
Maybe a pair of shoes.
Or, it's renovations, expansions, roof replacements and code upgrades for Anchorage public schools.
The three school bonds on April's citywide ballot will cost property owners an estimated $20 a year more in taxes per $100,000 assessed value, if the state comes through with its share of the bill.
City assessors say the average value of a single-family home in Anchorage is about $275,000. Subtract the general tax exemption (10 percent, up to $20,000 of property value), and the added taxes for a home valued at that amount would be about $51 a year.
Supporters say it's worth the investment -- that aging schools need fixing, and all kids deserve to go to class in well-lit buildings that don't leak and look nice.
Should the School District be selling bonds to fix, maintain and improve its properties?
That's up to voters.
And the School District thinks it has learned a thing or two over the years about Anchorage voters:
They are tired of increasing property taxes.
They don't want to see one big take-it-or-leave-it bond on the ballot.
They want to choose among the projects they think make sense, and the ones they see as wasteful. Think of it like buying those value multipacks of DVDs: It's harder to shell out cash when there's a B-movie included that will never get watched.
The bonds this year total almost $100 million and are separated into three packages.
Proposition 9, at roughly $20.9 million, includes maintenance-geared projects such as upgrades to meet hazardous materials, sprinkler and disability codes; roof replacements; security system improvements; and upgrades to the original gymnasium and pool at Dimond High.
Historically, bonds like Proposition 9 pass. And about 58 percent of voters polled recently by Hellenthal and Associates said they'd likely approve it.
Proposition 10 drew the best numbers in that poll, with 60 percent saying they'd vote for it. The $30.8 million bond includes overhauls for Chester Valley and Sand Lake as well as money to pay for designs for future work at Inlet View Elementary and Clark Middle School. It also has money to pay for planning for later projects at Girdwood K-8 School and Romig Middle School, and for a proposed new elementary school in southwest Anchorage.
Proposition 11, worth about $48.2 million, covers ongoing renovations at Bartlett, Chugiak, East and Service high schools, and also planning money for future work at West High. Fifty-five percent of people polled liked it -- but pollsters say that number can slide in the days leading up to the election.
Most projects qualify for at least 60 percent state reimbursement. If that comes through, then local taxpayers would pay about $58 million of the tab.
A person whose property is assessed as being worth $100,000 would pay $18.85 a year more if all three bonds passed, plus $1.65 a year for added operations costs that would come with some school expansion projects.
The district currently has about $797.9 million in bond debt dating back 20 years. Half will be paid by the state. The district will pay off $39 million this school year and has budgeted $39.9 million toward the debt next year.
Typically, the district won't sell voter-approved bonds until it needs to pay project costs. So the district also has about $48 million in unsold bonds, which will probably go on the block this summer to fund projects already under way, such as the Muldoon-area middle school on DeBarr Road.
Daily News reporter Katie Pesznecker can be reached at kpesznecker@adn.com.
Cost per bond
• PROPOSITION 9: If Proposition 9 passes, homeowners would pay $4.62 per $100,000 assessed value.
• PROPOSITION 10: If Proposition 10 passes, homeowners would pay $6.80 per $100,000 assessed value.
• PROPOSITION 11: If proposition 11 passes, homeowners would pay $7.43 per $100,000 assessed value.
• Without state debt reimbursement, those price tags would jump to $6.77, $9.98, and $15.62, respectively.
