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Bill would allow school development charges
By Jim Cornelius

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As the Sisters School Board gears up to convince voters to approve a $20.5 million bond for a new high school, legislators in Salem are considering a bill that would allow districts to charge new homes for their impact on schools.

Representative Kurt Shrader (D-Canby) proposed House Bill 2288, which "allows system development charges collected as school improvement fee(s) to be used to acquire land and construct school buildings and classrooms..."

Sisters has such charges to assess new growth's impact on sewer systems, roads and water systems, but state law does not allow such charges for schools.

Shrader emphasized that the bill, which went to a House committee for a hearing last week, is "just what we would call enabling legislation" -- it would be up to local government entities to decide whether development charges should be assessed, and how much they should be.

Shrader said that SDC charges would require growth to pay its way and provide a new source of revenue in addition to income and property taxes.

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Steve Swisher, Sisters school superintendent, acknowledged the movement to charge SDCs, but indicated that the Sisters School District is not counting on them for income to build a school.

Swisher offered one concern: that an SDC that is large enough to make a dent in the cost of a school could push housing prices further up in Sisters, making it more difficult for families with young children to live here.

State school funding is allocated on a per-student basis and is therefore dependent on enrollment.

However, Shrader said that a schools SDC doesn't have to be especially high.

He cited examples from other states in the $2,000-$3,000 range.

"It's not outrageous and you're not going to build a new school with that," he said. "The average person understands that it's not a free ride -- but it lowers the cost of your bond for your school district."

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The legislation has a long way to go before it becomes law -- and it may not happen.

"It's going to be an uphill battle," Shrader acknowledged.

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