Bethel: Senior citizens can seek school tax relief

Re: “Bond’s too much for senior citizens” (letter, 2-2).

As a public agency, the Bethel School District has a responsibility to communicate with its constituents, and this includes notifying senior citizens and disabled persons that they may qualify for a waiver or reduction of their school taxes by contacting the Pierce County assessor-treasurer’s office.

The district is running a $236.7 million school improvements and safety upgrades bond on Tuesday’s ballot. This measure constructs new and improved schools, resolves critical building needs and improves athletics and recreational facilities districtwide.

Based on our projections, the bond will cost the average $200,000 homeowner $12.33 per month, which equates to an increase in property taxes of 74 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation.

The waiver or reduction of school taxes for seniors and the disabled as well as our proposed list of projects have been communicated in our monthly Bethel Pride newspaper and in a direct mailer sent to more than 46,000 households in our district.

This information can also be found on our website (bethelsd.schoolwires.net/domain/4412) and on fact sheets at all of our schools.

We encourage all taxpayers to get the facts before they vote. This bond is an important measure that will have an impact on our schools and our community for many years to come.

(Carlson is Bethel School District’s director of communications.)

This story was originally published February 4, 2016 at 11:56 AM with the headline "Bethel: Senior citizens can seek school tax relief."