EDITOR NOTE–Looks like more tax-exempt space in the commercial building. Wise move for Gardner to pay BSU $1,000,000 advance in the form of a scholarship fund.

Much like the St Luke’s strategy….get bigger and bigger so you control more and get more. Pretty simple.

EDITOR NOTE–No slant on this at all. Details of WHEN the condo sale becomes tax exempt are yet to be determined. In the case of any state avoidance of “tax costs” the benefit–or liability–is borne by all state taxpayers. In the case at hand, only BOISE property owners are affected. There are no state property taxes. Also, BSU and the state have removed millions upon millions of dollars of property value from the tax rolls in Boise. Land Board owns brew pub, storage business, bank, parking ramp, which are ALL TAX EXEMPT in downtown. Meanwhile, BSU has removed private homes throughout the area of the campus, again depriving local government of revenue. Meanwhile we give them FREE fire service and their students consume police, fire, library, park, sewer service etc. No argument about BSU contributing to the economy, but they also eat up an equal amount of services while depleting local tax revenues.

Think of BSU as a city unto itself with a population of more than 20,000. Then, think of the services consumed and who pays. The answer–with no slant–is “fees in lieu of taxes” paid to Boise.

Colleges and students need to come to grips with the notion just any old degree will get you a good job. And, signing on the dotted line for student loans (often called tuition aid) has a day of reckoning.

All this may be off subject but choosing both school and course of study is as important as attending college. Four or more years, costs and the job prospects need careful attention.

Could it be possible that BSU gets new classroom space for less than it could build its own on campus? And it that’s true– wouldn’t that save taxpayer money on one ledger while increasing it on another?

And again, BG, I don’t see any spreadsheet of detailed estimates of how much this would add to property taxes. This is the same thing you do when attacking urban renewal districts. I have yet to see even the most basic detailing of how much property taxes are artificially inflated due to existence of properties exempt or partially exempt from property taxes.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like the idea of fragmented campuses but maybe that’s the coming reality of the 21st Century.

EDITOR NOTE–Don’t think we have any arguments. I just thought folks needed to know it was Gardner’s idea, not BSU. They are brilliant in their sales approach, but taxes on a $70,000,000 structure would be more than $1 million a year in aggregate for schools, city, county, ACHD, etc. As a rule of thumb the overall tax rate in the city is about 1.7% of value.

These guys have more angles than a protractor when it comes to screwing taxpayers out of money.

You piqued my interest with the annexation talk. Is there any more information available on that?

EDITOR NOTE–Check out the BOISE WEEKLY site. George Prentice did a pretty comprehensive story on it including a map. Council had it on the agenda for Tuesday. My issue is they simply create the very urban sprawl they claim to oppose.

Lots about student debt in these comments. Having zero debt myself, I’m scared for all these colelge kids but CS students are in a whole different league. These kids get paid $20/hr for their internships and laugh at unpaid internships. I swear I’ve heard a couple local tech guys speak about them have to duke it out to snatch these kids up their sophomore years. I’ve been jealous since.