Reviews & Comments
Fayetteville, NY
Excellent Education, Crushing Tax Burden- -
12/29/2012Fayetteville-Manlius Central School District (F-M for short) is widely reknowned as the area's premiere public school district- Consisted of 3 Elementary's (K-4), 2 Middle Schools (5-8), all funneled into 1 HS (9-12). This is a suburb of Syracuse, NY, where there are no less than 4 major competing hospitals, and countless medical specialty clinics, and even more private physician practices. We have so many specialty medical services, for example, that one local group of orthopaedic MD's rent a massive sign at the local ski mtns., for broken bones to report to that ortho practice... In poor taste, imho.
But, I digress- The point I wish to make, is that the F-M school district attracts countless incoming MD's each year, flooding the area to complete their medical residencies, lasting 1, 2 or even 4 yrs. (for post-doctoral fellowships, research positions, etc)- And, in addition to 4 hospitals (one is a teaching hospital/college all in one), we also have a total of ~8 colleges & universities within a half-hour or so- So, F-M area housing is also sought-after by PhD college prof's, seeking best quality education for their kids.
Furthermore, where there are Dr's, next come the lawyers, the high-earning engineers (we also have a # of reknowned engineering & architectural firms here), plus business owners & executives, and basically everyone with $$, who can afford to live in the uppity Fayetteville locale, does so.
We DO have very high (State and national) performing schools, according to the statistical data. If your kid is a math/science prodigy, he/she will do well here. Conversely, the district is absolutely tops at bringing in gazillions of grant-funded $$$ (our tax $) for special needs students. So, if your child needs special services, this is the place to be... And, be sure, all the local MD's and Atty's know this! Word has spread... Now, inner-city NYC families on public assistance, seeking a top quality education for their kids to escape the cycle of poverty, are pouring in- But, these families rent cheap apts- And that means, they don't pay property taxes! Only homeowners pay property taxes. Yes, on the surface, it appears that housing is affordable- After all, you can purchase a newly constructed home for $350K- which seems like a steal, to families coming from costlier areas- But, take serious notice here:
The combined County, Town, Library, School, and any other tax the locality feels like adding on, is an entire mortgage in itself! An entry level new home may seem like a bargain @ $350-$400K- But, in addition to your monthly mortgage payments, on this principal value, you will pay an additional $1,333.00 /monthly (not annually!), in straight real property taxes. Every month, month after month, year after year, decade after decade. So, what's happening now, is that high-earners, are getting out as soon as they can relocate to find a new job position- We frequently hear of an MD packing up his/her household and family overnight, and relocating to SouthEastern US, or SouthWestern US- Anywhere that the schools are good, the housing is affordable, and the property taxes are low- (MD's typically leave suddenly, without notice to their patients, b/c this would interrupt their income stream up until they leave!).
And then, what happens to the tax base? Well, real estate growth is negative- meaning ppl are leaving the area, faster than they are coming in- Housing values have plummeted. Ppl are underwater on their mortgages. Coupled with massive influx of non-property tax-paying renters, incoming from NYC, the local & State officials (driven by the schools), have no choice but to raise taxes on the existing homeowners. Which, in turn, drives ppl to "escape" as soon as they can. (My own child graduates HS this year, I'm gone! And yes, I do own our family home, and I do pay a fortune in property taxes!)
In Fayetteville, together with it's sister companion town of Manlius (comprising F-M schools), we have a lot of temporary, transitional families here- MD's in residencies, leaving as soon as their obligation here is ended, College prof's, hoping for tenure, and leaving when they don't get it, and can't afford the crushing tax burden here anymore, etc.
Also important to mention, are the brutal winters- Sandwiched between the Atlantic on the East, the Saint Lawrence Seaway to the North, the Finger Lakes to the East, and the Great Lakes to the North/NorthWest, we get absolutely pounded by non-stop cold, wet, cloudy, dark, days of snow, freezing rain, and worse.
But, on the up-side, nearby, affordable, well-run / well managed small ski area's are a joy- Just 1/2 hour from your front door/garage, to boarding the ski lift! This truly is one joy of the area- Also, we enjoy a # of beautiful, Upstate NY nature-preserved parks, including 2 adjacent, deep emerald green, glacial lakes, surrounded by an entire 100 acres designated "forever wild". It's a beautiful park, offering hiking, XC skiing, bicycling, fishing, swimming, picniking, a beach, boating, nature studies, camping sites, cabins for rent, etc. We have a YMCA (fairly new) that is jokingly referred to as the "physician's wives' health club"- Very nice facilities- But crowded beyond capacity- Offers weights, cardio machines (treadmills, ellipticals, etc), professional fitness staff, gigantic swim pool, and separate kiddie pool, all supervised by licensed lifeguards, a teen-activity room (pool, fooz ball, Wi-Fi, games, etc- supervised for dropping off your kids while you work out)- And a similar, but separate locked-door access room, for younger children to be entertained- Plus Arts & Crafts classes, fitness classes, organized hiking & bike riding, a cycling room, etc- And, it's very, very affordable!
Overall, the school district's hype outpaces it's actual quality of education. Teachers are paralized by the endless red-tape- To the point that they are prevented from effectively teaching. Other than math, science, sports, & music (classical / band- violin, cello, base, trombone, etc), if your child has advanced skills, or specialized interests, in other area's, forget it. They will be steamrolled over, their interests and abilities are suppressed. All they do is test the kids non-stop. Homework is nothing but "busy work"- Kids memorizing tons of useless information just to get through the next pop-quiz. Homework can easily be 6, 10, or 18 hours/nightly. Yes, far more than any human being can reasonably complete- And, it's just busy-work! If your child misses a day of school due to the flu, for example, they will spend 10 hours every night after school, catching up on the 1 missed day. (But, of course, the wealthier families vacation far, and often, and seem to be exempt from excessive homework backlog - These are the families that vacation in the Bahama's every Christmas, and in Europe every Spring, and the less well-off all see each other at Disney in Florida every Spring break). The gossip grapevine is on fire here, too.
And, furthermore- Although this goes without saying, there's always someone(!) who doesn't believe it to be true: Area realtors lie. Their bosses lie. (They have to, in order to sell homes in a locale where a house you buy today, will be worth less a year from now. After a decade, you'll be praying to minimize your $$ loss.) Realtors lie about aspects that are critically important to you. It is routine practice. It is widely engaged in, known, and rarely legally challenged. In fact, it is rarely illegal- Or, at least, you can't prove it is. So, if something is important for you to know about the area, be assured, your realtor is the wrong person to ask- Find another way. Needless to say, don't rely on the school district admin's, nor area lawyers, etc. For any questions important to your family, ask local families with kids in school! And, lastly, remember- Property values are decreasing, which necessitates that real property taxes are increasing. Put another way, if you choose to buy a home here, you are purchasing a sinking ship, that's going to take you down financially when it plummets down into the abyss.
Overall, the declining tax base (ppl leaving, more ppl renting vs. buying), combined with the increased tax burden on those existing (and new!) homeowners, create a crushing real property tax burden. That, further combined with a school district whose administrators and lawyers sweep serious criminal activity under the rug, tie their teachers hands with so many rules/regs that individual teachers are stressed beyond belief, don't dare breathe a word of it, and cannot actually teach our children anything- And, given that the district is all reputation, but little in the way of providing an actual student-customized, student-engaged, education- renders F-M an undesireable area. There are other very highly regarded, highly ranked, high-performing, student/education oriented school districts within minutes of F-M. Ask anyone, we all know which the top area school districts are! (By the way- The schools are the primary reason that ppl choose to relocate here- A designer address is another reason, that retirees, for example, may choose to buy a home here)- Thank you for reading this novel! If you choose to buy here, my humble suggestion is to rent for a year 1st. You'll learn so much in a year that will be helpful to you in deciding if/wher to buy, that this essay doesn't touch upon. Thank you again, for reading this novel :) Cheers!