Post by doctorwho on Nov 26, 2010 19:56:24 GMT -6
With the holidays it would be easy for this to get overlooked or lost- so I wanted to get it posted...thanks for staying vigilant Paul !
napervillesun.suntimes.com/opinions/letters/2522059-474/district-obesity-illinois-total-204.html
Letters to the editor
Nov 25, 2010 05:56PM
ShareBuzz up!E-MailPrintDistrict 204 confuses public
Why does Indian Prairie School District 204 continue to confuse the public with misleading information?
District 204 recently put out a press release which is remiss of some very important details.
The total judgment entered by the court in favor of Brach and Brodie for attorneys’ fees and costs due to district 204’s failed land grab for the third high school breaks down as follows: award Brach: $2,469,673.09; Brodie: $3,452,937.72. Total fees and costs awarded: $5,922,610.81. Less district’s previous deposit w/court: (-)$3,200,000. Total still due and payable: $2,722,610.81.
While the district “still owed $2.7 million for legal costs,” this fails to inform the public that the district had deposited $3.2 million in escrow against any judgment entered by the court.
The court entered its final order this week in favor of defendants attorneys’ fees and costs awarding the parties a total of $5.9 million.
As you know, the restructuring (refinancing/refunding) of previous bond indebtedness by extending the bonds farther out may have slightly lowered the bill in the short run, but in turn our loans were extended farther in time by an additional 12 years or a total of 20 years of payments instead of paying them off in the original eight years that were left.
Keep in mind that most of these bonds have interest front-loaded for the first 10 years or so before principal is even touched.
The total cost of the third high school is nowhere near the $124 million the district received approval from taxpayers to borrow. Even by the district’s own fuzzy math, the total spent on the third high school now exceeds $140 million. While most homeowners try to pay off their mortgage early and refinance their debt from a 30-year loan to a 15-year loan, District 204 has actually done the opposite in order to deceive taxpayers into believing their tax bill won’t go up.
As I warned in 2006, the average taxpayer will actually pay thousands and thousands more in taxes because the district loaded on the debt and turned an eight-year loan into a 20-year loan.
Statements by the district that your taxes won’t go up are, at best, an attempt to confuse you and at worst, an out and out lie.
Whenever a taxing authority tells you they want to borrow hundreds of millions and your taxes won’t go up, warning lights should immediately flash.
The district operates in such a fiscally irresponsible way; it seems their goal is to turn taxpayers into indentured servants who can never pay off their debts.
Paul White
Naperville
napervillesun.suntimes.com/opinions/letters/2522059-474/district-obesity-illinois-total-204.html
Letters to the editor
Nov 25, 2010 05:56PM
ShareBuzz up!E-MailPrintDistrict 204 confuses public
Why does Indian Prairie School District 204 continue to confuse the public with misleading information?
District 204 recently put out a press release which is remiss of some very important details.
The total judgment entered by the court in favor of Brach and Brodie for attorneys’ fees and costs due to district 204’s failed land grab for the third high school breaks down as follows: award Brach: $2,469,673.09; Brodie: $3,452,937.72. Total fees and costs awarded: $5,922,610.81. Less district’s previous deposit w/court: (-)$3,200,000. Total still due and payable: $2,722,610.81.
While the district “still owed $2.7 million for legal costs,” this fails to inform the public that the district had deposited $3.2 million in escrow against any judgment entered by the court.
The court entered its final order this week in favor of defendants attorneys’ fees and costs awarding the parties a total of $5.9 million.
As you know, the restructuring (refinancing/refunding) of previous bond indebtedness by extending the bonds farther out may have slightly lowered the bill in the short run, but in turn our loans were extended farther in time by an additional 12 years or a total of 20 years of payments instead of paying them off in the original eight years that were left.
Keep in mind that most of these bonds have interest front-loaded for the first 10 years or so before principal is even touched.
The total cost of the third high school is nowhere near the $124 million the district received approval from taxpayers to borrow. Even by the district’s own fuzzy math, the total spent on the third high school now exceeds $140 million. While most homeowners try to pay off their mortgage early and refinance their debt from a 30-year loan to a 15-year loan, District 204 has actually done the opposite in order to deceive taxpayers into believing their tax bill won’t go up.
As I warned in 2006, the average taxpayer will actually pay thousands and thousands more in taxes because the district loaded on the debt and turned an eight-year loan into a 20-year loan.
Statements by the district that your taxes won’t go up are, at best, an attempt to confuse you and at worst, an out and out lie.
Whenever a taxing authority tells you they want to borrow hundreds of millions and your taxes won’t go up, warning lights should immediately flash.
The district operates in such a fiscally irresponsible way; it seems their goal is to turn taxpayers into indentured servants who can never pay off their debts.
Paul White
Naperville