The Last Stand
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Steamboat Springs — Please do not overlook the only local issues on this year’s ballot: Referendums 2A and 2B. This is a renewal of the half-cent sales tax for Steamboat Springs that has been in place since 1993. Between 50 and 70 percent of this funding is paid by tourists — funding that directly benefits our local schools.
If 2A and 2B are not passed, our students will have larger class sizes and fewer opportunities. Programs such as Yampa Valley Science School, Youth Orchestra, Partner in Routt County’s school-based mentors, Gifted and Talented, and so many more programs will lose significant funding. This is the not direction we want our schools to take.
It is no accident that Steamboat has high performing schools. Standardized tests indicate Steamboat schools out perform most other Colorado schools. Quality schools require adequate funding. Quality schools also protect our property values.
Please support our schools, and vote “yes” on 2A and 2B. It is the last issue on the ballot. Don’t overlook it. Quality schools are an investment in our children’s future.
Janice and Andrew Poirot
Steamboat Springs
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Community comments
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smart65
October 6, 2008 at 8:52 a.m.
› Suggest removal
You forgot to mention our new Football Field and 2 new Playgrounds. Why not make it a County-wide tax?
windle
October 6, 2008 at 4:36 p.m.
› Suggest removal
And the other county schools benefit, how? West Routt, South Routt, North Routt , we all shop in Steamboat. Maybe this needs to change. We all pay sales taxes in Steamboat. There are 16,000 registered voters in Routt county and what is the population of Steamboat? 6,000 + ? This means a whole lot of people are paying sales tax into a black hole to benefit Steamboat Springs kids but not all Routt County kids. Cosco, K mart, Home Depot, Sam's Club, etc, all not that far away. Better prices and same rewards.
teleflypicker
October 6, 2008 at 5:48 p.m.
› Suggest removal
Windle, the population of Steamboat is close to double your guess. (11K +)
Yes, other county residents shop in Steamboat. A short math exercise is interesting. If the roughly 5000 residents of South Routt each spent $3000 per year in Steamboat, (man, woman and child) the total tax contributed to the school dsitrict would be 75K. Those numbers are pretty optimistic though. The actual amount spent is probably half that much.
It would be great if the rest of the county figured out a way to create an equivalent amount of locally generated funds for education and asked for a contribution from the Steamboat tax funds that was in line with the amount paid in and used to match those locally generated funds. Maybe the matching approach would generate excitement that would benefit the schools?
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