With the bond issue election over and the key promoters and their followers celebrating a victory, many people viewed only a portion of the proposal necessary. I was only supporting the elementary portion as the buildings of the junior and senior high were of recent construction and still functional to meet needs.

When supporters of the bond election marked their ballots, how many voters really read all of the items making up the ballot question? The $17 million District C-7 share was really the teaser as it was less than the $27 million from BEST. Seems attractive, as this was in media releases before the election. However, one of the items in the ballot question stated that the repayment amount could be up to $27 million. Is the difference a gift to various parties?

It is really interesting to read in the Valley Courier on Nov. 9 that the Colorado Department of Education released their report about five Valley school districts’ drop in accreditation. The report listed Del Norte C-7 dropping from Accredited in 2016 to Accredited With Improvement Plan in 2017. Did readers realize that the CDE report was released the day after the bond election? This has a bad smell. Would the bond election have turned out differently if the report was released before the election?

All that tax money spent for lack luster performance is bad enough and then think of the massive amount approved in the bond election. Accreditation is an indicator of the district’s ability to achieve stated objectives and can be equated to the value of the human factor being able to meet the goals. This is separate from the physical structures and support equipment. In the financial world, the bond ratings go from AAA to Junk Bonds. Their value and attractiveness are depending on their rating.

The human factor is a complex mixture of honesty, ethics, integrity, that form the character of the individual. The level of achievement displayed by this group of individuals determines the level of accreditation for a school district. A more desirable level of accreditation should not be allowed to be purchased by passing a bond election.

There have been horrific problems associated with other BEST projects in the Valley. People have the right to be concerned. By law, all property owners will have to pay the final bill, even if they didn’t support it. This is one kind of financial servitude.

This bond election will be seen by many people as a foolish debt creation.
Sincerely,
Hugh L. Fuchs