Albuquerque school district residents are voting on property tax increases that would raise about a billion dollars for projects over the next six years. The special mail-in ballots must be received in the Bernalillo County Clerks’ office by Tuesday, February 5th.
APS uses general obligation bonds to fund big construction projects, which are prioritized by need.
APS District 4 Board Member Barbara Peterson said after several years of spending on Albuquerque’s West side schools, it’s now time for her schools in the Southeast Heights and International District to get upgrades.
"Their classroom are old, the buildings are deteriorating," said Peterson. "[At] Whittier, kids have brown water coming out of water fountains. Same thing at Hawthorne. These schools are 70 years old. We need to improve the learning conditions."
Permission to sell more $200 million more in general obligation bonds to pay for those improvements is one question on the ballot.
The other questions ask whether to continue the mill levy that funds school maintenance, like fixing pipes and buying library books, and whether to increase it to fund security and technology upgrades.
APS says if all three measures pass, the total property tax increase will be $2 per $1,000, or 4.7 percent of the total tax rate.
Ballots can be mailed or dropped off in person at one of two Bernalillo County Clerk locations: the downtown office (One Civic Plaza, 6th Floor) or the voting machine warehouse (2400 Broadway SE, Bldg. H).
The County Clerks’ office must receive ballots by 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019.
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