Support schools, pass ballot measures

Voters in the Kent School District are being asked to approve two ballot measures in the Feb. 11 Special Election – an educational programs and operations levy, and a technology levy.

The local Association of Realtors has endorsed both of these school levies, and is asking voters to join them in supporting our local schools. Why? There are several reasons, but as a Realtor – and a voter – in the Kent School District I want to mention just two:

First, the school district has earned the Realtors’ support. The number of Kent schools rated “excellent” or “good” has more than doubled since the last time Kent Schools submitted a levy to voters.

Kent schools continue to do a better, and better, job of educating the children in our district. Tests score are up, awards have been pouring in, and other school districts from Washington (and from other countries) have been coming to the school district to see what they can learn, and copy, to help their own students. The Kent School District has earned the financial support our teachers, principals, administrators and PTSAs are asking for in these two levies.

Second, as Realtors, we know that there is a direct and important relationship between strong neighborhood schools and higher home values.

The first question Realtors often hear from buyers is, “What about the schools?” That’s because buyers know that good schools not only help to define communities, they support higher home values. It’s not just families with school-age kids who are concerned about the quality of schools when buying a home. Savvy buyers know that quality schools will be a factor in the sales price when it’s time to sell.

As a housing specialist for the Association of Realtors, I’ve looked at the research that backs-up what I also know first-hand based on my 20-plus years of experience as a local Realtor: Good schools support higher prices when it’s time to sell. Higher home values are also important for property owners who want to refinance their mortgage.

Researchers have studied the relationship between home values and good schools since at least 1956. That’s when Charles Tiebout published the results of his study: “A Pure Theory of Local Expenditures.” More recently, a January 2013 study published by The Reinvestment Fund found overall school quality, as measured by test scores, is positively related to the price of housing.

In a different study published by Clemson University, researchers used data on housing transactions between the years of 1994 and 2000 to analyze the effect of K-12 school rankings on housing prices. They found: 1, high-ranked schools have values embedded in single-family housing prices, and 2, greater commuting distances to schools has a negative impact on the value of property. That’s just a fancy way to say that strong schools support higher home values, and home values are lower if people have to commute long distances to find good schools.

Still another study published in the Quarterly Journal of Economics found that better school quality, as shown by an increase in test scores, has a positive effect on housing prices.

It’s really pretty simple: Home and condo prices are higher when the local schools are good, and you also get more for your property when it’s time to sell.

Voting “Yes” on these two levies for Kent Schools will not only be good for the kids and families in our community, they’ll also benefit homeowners like my wife and I who have no children of our own. So, I voted “Yes” on the Kent School levies, and I mailed-in my ballot.

If you’re a voter in the Kent School District you can join me, and other Realtors in the Kent School District, in voting to approve these well-earned school levies. But you must mail-in your ballot by Feb. 11 for your vote to count.

– Sam Pace, realtor with Executive Real Estate & Housing Specialist with the Association of Realtors