George and Liz - Give me your reaction to this. I think we need a pretty simple talking point that speaks to the bond and its effect on our operating funds and tightening budgets. It would go something like this.

How can we afford the bond when budgets are under such pressure?

We believe that the passage of the bond will improve the financial situation in the district. Our best hope for increasing revenue is to increase enrollment, and we are convinced that this major investment in our schools and in technology will draw new students in. In addition we are able to transfer certain expenses to the bond that are currently taken from the operating budget, thus relieving some pressure there. In addition, the major maintenance improvements may decrease the costs of routine maintenance in the schools. These are three examples of how the passage of the bond will improve the financial health of the district, no matter how tight operating budgets get.

(Should we also clarify that we cannot ask for increased operating millage, so we aren't really tapping overall millage capacity, only bond/sf capacity?)

- peter

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