Project Costs

Overall Project Cost

This chart shows what each aspect of the project will cost and what funding sources will be used to pay for them.

By changing the project scope and reducing the total project cost we have 100% of the non-bond funds secured and available for use with the project.

Projected Cost To Taxpayers

Payments for the bond will be paid for out of the the school district's annual budget.  The amount of the school district budget is used to calculate the homestead education tax rate paid by property owners.  For our current school budget (FY25) every $103,682 in the budget increases the equalized tax rate by 1 cent.  We can use this to estimate how much the bond payments will add to property tax bills.  Over the life of the loan the amount it is projected to add ranges from 2.88 cents in FY28 to 1.20 cents in FY47.

The average home value in our district is a little less than $200,000.  Working through the math, the bond will cost the average homeowner in our district an average of less than $50 per year.

Taxpayers with a household income of less that $128,000 per year may be eligible for the Vermont Property Tax Credit.  Taxpayers receiving the Vermont Property Tax Credit pay property taxes as a proportion of their income.  So the cost for lower income taxpayers will be lower than the numbers above.  For a homeowner with a $200,000 home who earns $40,000 a year, the average cost will be less than $20 per year.

Renters do not pay homestead education taxes.

If this project is able to attract additional tuition students to our district, this will decrease the cost of the project for the taxpayer.  If the project attracts one additional tuition student coming to our high school per year, that would decrease the cost for a $200,000 house to an average of $29 per year.  If 2 additional tuition students came per year, the total cost would decrease to an average of $11 per year.

In a recent survey 30% of current high school tuition students responded that the music program was very important or somewhat important for their choosing to come to White River Valley High School.  Despite this, there are no guarantees that the project would attract any additional students.  Regardless, these projects are a worthwhile investment in the students in our community and the buildings at the heart of our towns at a reasonable cost even without any additional tuition revenue.

See below for the full bond payment schedule and tax projections.

How Does This Compare To Previous Bonds?

Our towns have had two bond votes for our school buildings in recent history.

2007 - South Royalton Gym - In 2007 South Royalton voters approved a 20 year $3.88 million bond to build the high school gym in South Royalton.  Accounting for inflation, this would be the equivalent of a $5.89 million bond today. And since South Royalton was paying for the bond by itself, the tax impact of the bond was much higher - peaking at 10.74 cents in 2013.  This is almost four times what the proposed bond would add.

2012 - Bethel Building Updates - In 2012 Bethel voters approved a 10 year $550,000 bond to repair the roof, fix the parking lot and culverts, and do other efficiency upgrades and repairs.  Much smaller in scope, the tax impact of this bond peaked at 2.6 cents in Bethel in 2014.

After the merger, the tax impact of each individual bond was decreased since both towns were helping to pay for the bonds instead of having to fund them individually.  In the first year of the merger, the combination of the two bonds added 5.46 cents to the tax rate.