Dear editor,

I am writing in response to the recent letter to the editor from Paul Dragert who wrote an opinion piece entitled “Reader questions true cost of school referendum.” In it Mr. Dragert suggests the school district has not been forthright with the true costs of the referendum as the costs to the taxpayers have only been framed within the increase of the new referendum.

His claim is factually untrue. In fact, a July 14, 2016, article written by the Marshfield News-Herald states, “If the district does not proceed with a referendum or if a funding measure fails, the owner of a $100,000 home would likely pay about $125 less than present, Saucerman said, as the increased taxing authority approved in the 2012 referendum will expire by next year.”

I have also clarified this point in a number of presentations and interviews I have done over the past several months. Perhaps Mr. Dragert saw one of the presentations or read an instance where this point was not clarified, but there has been no attempt on the part of myself or anyone who understands how financing for this referendum works to conceal this fact, and any suggestion otherwise is wholly inaccurate.

Patrick Saucerman

School District of Marshfield Director of Business Services