Community to Vote on Bond During November Election
Vermont Business Magazine Want to see what a modern high school and technical center in Burlington could look like? Burlington School District (BSD) released the most recent drawings, floor plans, and a “fly through” video of the school at a Town Hall on Wednesday, September 21st. The video gives a glimpse of the building, which is being designed to be open, sustainable, flexible, accessible, and vibrant. The numbers are based on the passage of a $165 million bond vote in November.
The district also released more tax estimates targeted toward those who pay school taxes based on their income rather than the cost of their home. The range is $190 a year on the low end to $1,088 on the high end. See tables below.
Those estimates and more can be found on the project webpage: https://www.bsdvt.org/bhs-btc-2025/
“As Burlington voters gear up to make a decision, we want to make sure we are giving as much information as possible,” said Superintendent Flanagan. “I want taxpayers to understand that we are balancing the impact this will have on taxes with the needs of our community to have a great school that supports deep learning for each student. That is why we continue to release information and why we are committed to answering questions about the project and connecting with the community.”
Flanagan also noted that the tax estimates should be considered high-end estimates because they do not account for the influx of support that is expected to occur by the time the District needs to borrow money. “We know changes to the State’s school funding formula will reduce taxes for Burlington, which is going to offset a substantial portion of this impact, and we are also actively pursuing private contributions and more than 16 federal and state grants to bring the cost down and reduce taxes. So while this information is helpful to have, I want to assure taxpayers that we are confident that the actual impact of this project will be much less than what we are projecting.”
BHS/BTC 2025 Estimated Tax Impacts
These figures are calculated based on the assumption that all factors of BSD’s budget (including enrollment, Common Level of Appraisal, spending, etc.) do not change. The numbers also assume borrowing the full $165m bond; as our current efforts show, we are confident that this will not happen. Additionally, changes to the State’s school funding formula will reduce taxes. Therefore, these figures should be viewed as high-end estimates as we know the actual impact will be much lower than what is represented.
Those who have questions about the project can visit https://www.bsdvt.org/bhs-btc-2025/. Volunteers will also answer questions at The Bagel Cafe & Deli on Saturday, September 24th from 8AM to 10AM. District representatives will also present information at the Ward 4&7 NPA on September 28, the Ward 8 NPA on September 29, and at a Town Hall at the Miller Center on October 21.
Renderings courtesy BSD.
Burlington School District (BSD) is a pre-k-12 public school system of about 4,000 students in Burlington, VT. www.bsdvt.org
Burlington, VT 9.22.2022.
