Valley View Denies $83.5 Million Additional Debt

At its May 23 board meeting, VVSD board members denied the accuracy of the PMA Securities presentation, which was taken off the district website after the April 12 board meeting. 

Yet, the $17 million tax levy reduction contained in the document was accurate enough to be reported numerous times in local media: ,  and .

The $29 million net present value contained in the document was accurate enough to be stated at the March 14 board meeting by board member Rick Gougis in response to my question about the total debt.

At that same meeting, the $29 million and $17 million were accurate enough for Assistant Superintendent Gary Grizaffi to include them in the Finance Committee Report. But the $83.5 million net total increase in debt service, from which the other two numbers are derived, is inaccurate?

Even if the final total debt service figure does change—Grizaffi said this week it should be expected to be $20 million less—this will still result in tens of millions of dollars in additional district debt that taxpayers never got a chance to vote on.

Board President Steve Quigley said the PMA Securities presentation was only put on the district website because of Open Meetings Act requirements. Did the VVSD board consider the Open Meetings Act when to draft and jam through legislation, ensuring they could extend district debt repayment, burdening future generations with unnecessary debt?