Geneva taxpayers sold bill of goods

This is nuts!

Was this your reaction when you opened your property tax bill? Why did your taxes increase so much? The answer is, “It is all about the schools.” Or better, the school buildings. We are now paying off huge debt for physical buildings. The real estate market collapse and the false promise that “your taxes won’t increase because of the referendum” has added to the nightmare.

In Geneva, it is more complicated because the community was lied to about future enrollment projections. Don’t like the word lie? Is deceived, conned or misrepresented any better? The administration and/or school board intentionally inflated an expert’s projections so that they could get what they wanted. How do we know this? Because there is a paper trail and videotape.

When questioned, the board president replied, “On top of Dr. Kasarda’s most enthusiastic projections, we used some type of a multiplier or additive and the numbers were quite a bit higher than what he projected. I’m not sure why. Without some type of full-blown investigation, too much time has gone by, too many people who were involved are no longer available. I’m not sure what else I can say on the matter. The projections were high; we can’t go back in history.”

There you have it, an $80 million referendum based on a lie. Three of the seven board members from 2006 and the superintendent are still in place, yet no one can remember anything.

The approved $80 million in bonds turned into more than $112 million. Already over their debt limit, low interest bonds were refinanced with higher rate, non-callable bonds. In 2009, the board explored adding to the high school at a cost of more than $85 million. This never made it to referendum but the board president at the time thought it was a good plan and was needed.

Bob McQuillan

Geneva