Want to know why you should support school bonds and parcel taxes? Better schools increase home values – in a very big way.
The Brookings Institution has a new study that suggests there is a huge difference in the property value of homes near high-rated schools and homes near low-rated schools. Well, it doesn’t so much suggest it as state it outright. And it’s a difference that dramatically dwarfs the sum total of all existing and proposed bonds and taxes, at least that exist in Sunnyvale.
One always has to use caution about cause and effect when interpreting a study like this. But County Assessor Larry Stone is a huge proponent of school bonds and parcel taxes. He has seen many cases in Santa Clara County of dramatic differences in the property value of houses on opposite sides of the same street, where the only difference is a school district boundary that runs down the center of the street. If you own a home, you need to be aware that one of the most significant factors in its value is the quality of its schools. And you should remember that when you’re voting on school funding ballot measures. Those measures tend to be a very direct investment in the value of your property, simply because of their impact on the local quality of education.