Doctorate in Mendacity

Everyone expects politicians to engage in hyperbole and the occasional prevarication to make their case. We don’t like it but we tolerate it. However when educators engage in half-truths and partial facts to feather their own nests, we should be outraged.

Dr. Shon Hocker, superintendent of Coeur d’Alene public schools, in today’s CDA Press says “If this levy passes, the total school district tax rate next year will be $1.31 per $1,000. That’s about 25 cents less than the current rate.” giving the impression that your taxes will go down. They WON’T.

Dr. Hocker, the man tasked with educating our children DOESN”T GIVE ALL THE FACTS.

While it is true your levy rate is going down, the amount of taxes you will pay is going up. Why? Because property assessed VALUES have gone up by ~62%.

Last year you paid $1.56 per $1,000 of your property’s value to the CDA school district.

If you had a $525,000 house you paid $624 in taxes to the district.

Because your SAME HOUSE is now assessed at $850,000, even if the tax rate drops to $1.31 per $1,000 the tax you pay will INCREASE to $950 if the new levy passes.

What is worse is that is the levy doesn’t pass your tax will still go up. Without the levy the rate will be $0.98 per $1,000 so you will pay $710 per year to the CDA school district.

Now $624

Without the levy $710

With the levy $950

It’s just common sense….and math.

NOTE: If you want to check my math, be sure to subtract the $125,000 homeowner’s exemption from the assessed value to get the taxable value before multiplying by the levy rate to get the tax.

If you are wondering why your taxes went up even without the levy, it is partially because home values went up faster than commercial values AND the new Kootenai Hospital URD froze a bunch of property values. This shifted the tax burden to private homeowners.

Also, all the numbers I used come from the CDA Press or the district.

By Brent Regan