Don't let Whitefish get behind when it comes to education

As a matter of principle, I am a strong proponent of voting for bonds related to education and school facilities. There is great power in public education and I want our students and teachers to have the best tools for learning, while also spending taxpayer money wisely.

I put a lot of faith in the task force who studied the serious issues at Muldown Elementary for more than a year and have recommended a bond for building a new school as the most fiscally responsible action over the long term.

There is talk around town about money spent on recent city projects and how this will affect the bond vote. Let’s be clear: the new City Hall and parking structure were funded with tax increment financing (TIF) funds and did not raise taxes on our residents. Money was saved for close to 30 years for this important civic project and we thank the commercial TIF district for funding this much needed capital improvement project. Unfortunately, school districts do not enjoy the same privilege as municipal governments. Montana school finance laws prohibit school districts from savings funds for capital improvement projects of this size.

Haskill Basin also comes up in discussions. The city recently raised the resort tax by 1 percent to preserve our drinking water supply in perpetuity with the Haskill Basin conservation easement. Of the $16.7 million, $9 million came from federal grants, with the remaining $7.7 million raised from the 1 percent resort tax increase that is paid on lodging, restaurants, prepared food, alcoholic beverages, and some retail items. We are fortunate that we have the ability to pay for this with help from our visitors and by supporting our downtown merchants by shopping local.

Speaking of water, yes — wastewater (sewer) rates will soon increase and will be scaled incrementally over a 10-year period. The city is going to do everything we can to seek state and federal grants and low interest loans to offset this burden to our taxpayers. With the changes in federal standards, communities across all of Montana are facing the same dilemma, not just Whitefish. City leaders are committed to exhausting all resources to make the increases as small as possible.

It is remarkable that a small town of our size is able to deliver the level of amenities and services that we do. Whitefish also maintains one of the lowest property tax mill rates in Montana for a town our size, in part because of the resort tax rebate that is projected to be close to $1 million for fiscal year 2018.

Education is the foundation of any good town and strong schools equate to strong economic growth for Whitefish. The task force worked hard to provide the best recommendation for spending taxpayer money and I believe paying an extra $11 per month in taxes for an average Whitefish home is a reasonable proposition for building a modern elementary school.

Many cities across the state and nation are facing the same types of issues we are. Voting yes for the new school will enable Whitefish to continue to attract young families who make our town healthy. It will ensure our youngest students are not put in position where modular units and reconstruction are what they remember of their formative learning years. The districts in Montana who have put forth reasonable requests to their voters are moving forward with new schools. I hope we don’t let Whitefish get behind. Waiting on this will only cost us more down the road.

The landslide vote in favor of protecting Haskill Basin was an indication of our community values. This is a value call too.

John M. Muhlfeld is the Mayor of Whitefish.