As homeowners in the Kelseyville area and the parents of a child currently attending the Kelseyville Unified School District, we are voting NO on Measure Q in the upcoming March 5 election.

Measure Q is a bond measure that proposes to assess property owners $60 per $100,000 of assessed value every year on their property taxes for 30 YEARS to do infrastructure improvements and upgrades in the amount of $35.5 million.

This bond will also incur interest charges and possibly cost Kelseyville taxpayers over $70 million. This proposed bond would be IN ADDITION to the other two KVUSD school bonds we currently pay annually on our property tax bill.

We agree that more investment is needed to improve education in our school district. We encourage the school district to ask the state of California for money to improve infrastructure. Furthermore, these infrastructure improvements do not directly translate into improved education as the proponents of Measure Q promise.

This property tax assessment will not only affect homeowners and landowners in the school district. The passage of this measure could easily result in increased rents for those who are currently renting a home in the district.

It is easy to donate money to the school district if you are in a financial position to do so, but consider that a “yes” vote on Measure Q will force every homeowner and landowner in Kelseyville to pay another assessment on their property taxes whether or not they can afford it.

Given the high inflation we are experiencing in this current economy, the skyrocketing homeowner’s insurance rates and the recent storm damage we are dealing with, there could not be a worse time to ask residents to fund government projects. Vote No on Measure Q.

Ryan and Pilar White live in Kelseyville, California.