Riverview School District No. 407- Proposition No. 1

BALLOT TITLE
PROPOSITION NO. 1
SCHOOLS FACILITY IMPROVEMENT GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS - $6,500,000
For constructing and making improvements to physical education and athletic facilities at Cedarcrest High School, Tolt Middle School and each elementary school, including fields and other improvements, shall Riverview School District No. 407 issue $6,500,000 of general obligation bonds maturing within a maximum term of 20 years, and shall annual property tax levies in excess of regular tax levies be authorized to pay principal and interest on such bonds, all as provided in District Resolution No. 98-11?

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT:
Passage of Proposition No. 1 would allow the issuance of $6,500,000 of bonds by Riverview School District No. 407 (the "District") to provide funding for improvements to physical education and athletic facilities at Cedarcrest High School, Tolt Middle School and each elementary school, including fields and other improvements. The bonds would be repaid out of annual excess property tax levies over a period of 20 years. The exact amount of such annual levies would depend on the interest rates available at the time the bonds are sold, but the average levy rate is expected to be under 37.5 cents per $1,000 of assessed value for the term of the bonds.

STATEMENT FOR
Your vote is necessary!
The Snoqualmie Valley is a great place to live and raise a family. Our children and community deserve to have opportunities for athletic growth. Athletics play an important part in our children’s growing process — with it, they learn cooperation, persistence and responsibility.
With your "YES" vote, we can:
• Dramatically increase field availability for the entire community
• Substantially improve all elementary playfields and Tolt within 2 years
• Provide quality football, soccer, and baseball fields and a few lighted tennis courts at Cedarcrest
• Build restroom/concession and grandstand facilities at Cedarcrest
• Reduce/eliminate unnecessary travel to and from Tolt and Woodinville for practices
Students who participate in extra-curricular activities are required to maintain good grades, thereby providing incentives for higher academic standards.
Riverview voters have shown their support twice in the past with the majority voting "YES." However, the bond has failed due to the required 60% yes vote.
What does this all cost? For a $200,000 home, the annual cost would be about the same as a 6-month subscription to a local newspaper - $76.00.
WE NEED EVERYONE’S VOTE! Please help us provide our community with a quality athletic environment.

REBUTTAL OF STATEMENT AGAINST
DON’T SHORTCHANGE OUR CHILDREN - VOTE YES, make this a district our kids will be proud to compete in.
GET INFORMED • Our kids are our future, shouldn’t we put their EDUCATIONAL/PHYSICAL needs first? • Over 1/2 the voters said yes (not 60% required) as a result each time the price goes up! • Do you consider the price of a newspaper subscription "megabucks"? • If fields are "adequate" why are students being bussed to other fields for practice?

STATEMENT PREPARED BY: JOHN FIELDS, JAN NEIGEL

STATEMENT AGAINST
DON’T SHORTCHANGE EDUCATION!
REJECT THIS BLOATED SPORTS PROPOSAL!
A costly athletic facilities bond failed in three past elections. Now swollen to $6.5 million, it breaks down to $6.25 million for sports facilities and a stadium at Cedarcrest High and $250,000 for token enhancements at Tolt Middle School and three elementary schools. TAXPAYERS’ TOTAL BILL, INCLUDING INTEREST PAYMENTS, IS AN ESTIMATED $11.25 MILLION! The District doesn’t tell you this.
EDUCATION COMES FIRST
Riverview asks taxpayers for megabucks for sports—but, hold on to your hats, folks. Two more whopping proposals, important to basic education, will hit your pocketbooks before long.
A computer technology levy costing about $2,500,000 will likely reach the ballot next spring. A multi-million dollar proposal to build a needed K-through-8th-grade school reaches voters within 3-4 years—plus biennial Maintenance & Operations levies.
If this inflated sports bond passes, will taxpayers later be willing to add these other expensive burdens to their tax bill? How deep are our pockets?
KIDS NEED SPORTS. RIVERVIEW’S EXISTING FIELDS, IF THE DISTRICT WOULD PROPERLY MAINTAIN THEM, ADEQUATELY MEET STUDENT NEEDS, combined with excellent available County fields, and the coming Little League field in Duvall.
VOTE AGAINST THIS GRANDIOSE PROPOSAL.

REBUTTAL OF STATEMENT FOR
Claims that this bond will only tax a $200,000 home at $76.00 annually are false. In truth, the levy rate will bounce up and down, reaching at its highest point $1.00 per $1,000 assessed home value, or $200 that year for this homeowner—plus the bundle of other school taxes he pays. Even though Riverview’s levies rank among the county’s highest, its impact fees to developers are low. Your pocketbook makes up the difference.

STATEMENT PREPARED BY: ALICE YARBOROUGH, JACCI HEUBERGER, KAREN M. HILL

NOTE: The Division of Records and Elections is not authorized to edit statements, nor is it responsible for their contents.