Residents within Falcon School District 49 have formed a group, Citizens for Building Our Future Community in District 49, to show support for ballot measure 3B.According to the districtís website, 3B will keep the current mill levy rate at 10.159 mills. That rate was determined by a voter-approved mill levy override in 2004 and a separate voter-approved mill levy in 2011. The 2011 mill levy, which began in 2012, is set to expire in 2017.Supporters say keeping the mill levy rate as is would allow the district to increase teacher salaries, renovate and refresh all of the existing schools, build additions or remodel the three largest high schools, and build two new elementary schools.The total tax rate would decrease each year as that debt matures and eventually drops to zero by the end of 2017. Elimination of that debt, plus the expiration of the 2011 mill levy would drop district taxes by about $20 per month for the average homeowner, according to the website.As the debt is paid down, the district would use the money from 3B to layer in a mill levy override to keep the total mills at 10.159, as stated on the Citizens groupís website.According to the November 2004 ballot, the original 2005 mill levy override is set to end in the 2035-2036 school year. However, in 2014, voters approved the overrideís continuation and eliminated its end date.Matt Barrett, a member of the Building Our Future Community group, said they formed the group because of a shared belief that they were happy with the direction in which the district is headed. ìWe are very encouraged with how fiscally responsible our district has become in the last five years,î he said. ìIt makes perfect sense (to approve 3B) because it does not raise our taxes but gets an awful lot done.îDave Cruson, a member of the District Accountability Advisory Committee, as well as the Building Our Future Community group, said it would be easy for people not to vote in favor of the measure and allow their taxes to go down. ìBut if we come back in a year or five years to look at the construction, it is going to require a tax increase,î he said.The Building Our Future Community group held two organizational meetings in September and has another scheduled for Oct. 3 at La Mission Restaurant in Falcon, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30. Anyone interested in attending is asked to RSVP to the following email address: buildingourfutured49@gmail.com.
