By Southwest Ledger Editorial Board
Last year, a clerical mistake in the valuation of Cache Public Schools and a fight between the Goodyear company and the Oklahoma Tax Commission had Comanche County public officials worried about property taxes, school funding and the possibility of future tax increases.
School officials were notified by the county that there had been a mistake in the district’s next assessed valuation. Cache School Superintendent Chad Hance sent a letter to patrons of the school that said the school was “re-evaluating the scope” of project to construct a new middle school.
Around the same time, Cache patrons passed a $35 million bond package to expand a middle school and create a new parking area. Construction had already begun when the school district heard from the county.
Officials at the school district and the county said they were taking steps to ensure there would be no additional problems. Cache needed funds for a school project, and the county needed to ensure it assessed things properly.
We thought the issue had been put to rest.
We were wrong.
Last week, Cache schools filed a lawsuit against the county. Upon discovering a failure by the assessor, the excise board and the school district’s budgeting officials, Cache chose to double down on the spending rather than slowing down the project or going back to the voters and seeking a different approach.
Now, the Cache district is asking every resident in Comanche County to finance new facilities for a small group of students.
Cache’s lawsuit doesn’t reflect well on the district or its leadership.
In almost any business or government agency, spending priorities are re-evaluated when mistakes are discovered and when fewer funds are available. While we understand the difficulties the district faces, we don’t see how a lawsuit – which will prove to be expensive for both sides before it’s finished – will help either group.
Every resident of Comanche County is invested in the education of their children, and those residents also deserve accountability on how their education funds are being spent. Rather than rush into a new project when the amount available to pay for that project is in question, Cache wants to push the entire county to pay for its rush to judgement.
That’s wrong.
Instead of a long, drawn-out court battle, it’s time for Cache administrators to work with county officials to put the assessment matter to rest and be smart about how they will plan and fund future school projects.