Letter from Library and School Board Members: ‘NO on SQ 766’

• Joe Wertz
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  Joe Wertz was a reporter and managing editor for StateImpact Oklahoma from 2011-2019. He reported on energy and environment issues for national NPR audiences and other national outlets. He previously worked as a managing editor, assistant editor and staff reporter at several major Oklahoma newspapers and studied journalism at the University of Central Oklahoma.

Here’s a letter urging a ‘no’ vote on State Question 766 signed by three library and two school board members in Norman.

Elaine Hobson, a Norman-area pathologist and Pioneer Library System board member collected the signatures. If the question passes — exempting certain “intangible” properties from taxation — schools, libraries and county services will face cuts, the five signatories write:

The estimate for lost revenue for the state is as high as $68 million. The Pioneer Library System estimates they would lose $400,000 and the Norman Public Schools estimate a loss of $600,000. Other county services such as our Health Department would also lose.

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