March 23, 2009 Proposed Charter High School and Financial Responsibility

Dear Key Biscayne resident, Would it be fiscally responsible for our Village to establish a school in our community at these economically challenging times? Realizing we have over 3,400 children in our community - over 800 of them in high school age - would be sufficient, under normal circumstances, to justify establishing the proposed college preparatory school. However, our economy is in  shambles and we need to ensure, more than ever, a fiscally responsible evaluation of the proposal. As a premise, school operations must be self-sufficient - with no subsidy from the Village. There are mechanisms to isolate the Village, and its tax payers, from the financial responsibility of operating the school. In short, residents would not have a tax liability on school's operations. Capital investment - not expenses - for the building and start-up operations should not be more than $7M, with an amortization of $620,000 over 15 years. Building would become a community asset, not just as a school but as a lifelong learning center for the entire community. In the event surplus in our Village's budget is reduced for whatever reason, it would mean a tax liability of less than $50 per year to a $500,000 in assessed property value. In addition, there are programs available under the ARRA that may allow us to finance the project with very favorable terms, further reducing the payment of capital investment and potential tax liability. Furthermore, naming opportunities would also be explored, which could further reduce liability. We believe the small investment would bring tangible and significant financial benefits to the community. For instance, the school would bring back to the community close to $3M from the taxes we send across the bridge each year. It would also expand retail business customer base by 400 students and their families - providing with better shopping options to all residents. Our real estate property values would benefit, providing a significant return on the small investment. In conclusion, proposed initiative would not only provide our over 3,400 children the choice of attending a high-quality college preparatory program in their community, or the benefit to the community of establishing a lifelong learning center for all residents of our Village, but would be fiscally responsible. In fact, forfeiting our right to get taxes back to work for our community, while enhancing our retail business and our property values, would be fiscally irresponsible. Thank you, KBCHS Steering Group info@hs4kb.com P.S. See latest news on charter schools: Catholic schools may get new life as charters