Letter: New developments should pay for new Richland schools

My wife and I are debating if we should vote yes on the Richland School District’s $99 million bond issue.

While we have always supported our local schools, we’re wondering why we are being asked to pay for two new schools in areas that are currently under development. We feel that if families can afford a new $400,000 home, they can afford to pony up extra money to pay for their new school in that area. We will gladly help pay for the maintenance/upkeep when their new school is built.

In the past, we’ve been asked to pay for new fire stations in new development areas. When the city was questioned about why there wasn’t a levy put on the new developments’ homes to pay for said fire stations, their answer was we decided to do it this way. Most major cities have the new developments pay for the new fire stations and police stations in their areas. And their new schools too.

Maybe the Richland School Board can answer this question prior to the Feb. 14 vote.

This story was originally published February 7, 2017 at 4:12 AM with the headline "Letter: New developments should pay for new Richland schools."