The LPOSD is seeking your approval for a $55 million levy to fund new school construction, which if approved, would put a heavy financial burden on our community by taking $55 million of spendable cash from our community over the next six years.

As a certified financial planner, I am in favor of some of the proposed building construction, but what I am not in favor of is the proposed tax structure being presented. Instead of a six-year payback, a more prudent tax structure would be a 30-year bond that would match the life of the new facilities and let future families, using the schools, help pay for the costs.

What the school district is presenting could be compared to going to a bank to buy a home and requesting an affordable 30-year mortgage but the bank states that they could only approve you for a six-year loan. Instead of a loan payment of $1,000 a month, the six-year term would have payments of $3,500 a month, putting a tremendous financial strain on your family. That is exactly what the school district is asking from the taxpayers.

Please vote no on Aug. 30, not because you agree or disagree with the new construction, but because of the excessive tax burden that this levy will put on the families, businesses and land owners in our community. Let’s do things right and ask the school district to present a 30-year bond.

LASZLO SUTO

Sandpoint