"Just the Facts"

In Sergeant Joe Friday’s take on the school referendum, Terry Fondow, Principal of Rhinelander High School, gives "just the facts" to some very controversial issues surrounding the school referendum in Rhinelander:

Statement: Will all the spoiled people drive me out of my home? Teach our children to work for extras and to be content with what we do have.

Just the facts: The apparent meaning of the statement above is that there are “spoiled people” who want “extras” for their children that will cause increases in the property tax that will drive someone out of their home.

The simple truth is that passage of the referendum will not cause an increase in property taxes. If property taxes go up next year, which they probably will, it will be because the State of Wisconsin has decided to remove more school aid based on property values.

The Rhinelander area has very high property values due to the amount of water frontage property available in this area. Higher property values equal higher property tax rates. There is nothing in the referendum that will directly increase property values.