Hockinson School District levy proponents argue that a vote for the levy is a vote to increase property values. It’s one of their main talking points, in fact. But Hockinson property values have already been increasing at a dizzying rate. And for most of us, those inflated property values just mean ever-higher property taxes: over 54% higher since 2015.Hockinson is experiencing rural gentrification, a process in which affluent people move into small towns and rural areas, get involved politically and civically, and shift civic priorities away from the needs of existing residents, toward their own wants and needs. They also simply increase property values by moving into the area, which in turn forces existing residents out.
The ever-higher property values levy proponents prize matter a great deal, of course, to people who sell and leave after their kids graduate. But those folks aren’t the heart of the community.
And neither, for that matter, is HSD, although it has adopted the boilerplate “heart of the community” advertising slogan used by school districts across the state…