Remember: School quality linked to home value

If you own property, your home value is forever tied to the quality of the local public schools, whether or not you have kids in those schools. How much does school quality matter?

There's plenty of research to show that your home value can rise or fall significantly based on the performance of local public schools. For example:

• A RedFin survey concluded that a home in a top-ranked school district was worth $50 more per square foot vs. a home in an average school district. That means a 2,000-square-foot house, for example, is worth an extra $100,000 if the schools are strong.

• Brookings Institute studied the 100 largest metro areas and found that housing costs an average of $205,000 more in neighborhoods with high performing schools.

• Realtor.com indicates that home values in top-rated districts were 49 percent higher than the national median home price, and that even slight drops in school quality lowered home value.

• A New York Times study showed that for every 5 percent test scores went up, home value went up by 2.5 percent.

In short, quality public schools translate into real money for property owners. Any savvy property owner knows that strong schools matter.

In Glen Ellyn, there are only three candidates for the District 41 Board of Education who are committed to keeping our schools strong and our property values high in a fiscally responsible manner: Jessica Buttimer, Julie Hill and Ted Estes, the bottom three candidates on your slate. Buttimer, Hill and Estes have promised to reflect the community's voice, respect the experts (including any recommendations by the Financial Advisory Committee), and make data-driven, fact-based decisions.

On April 2, vote the bottom three for District 41 BOE to bring fresh, levelheaded voices to the board.

Kristin Nichols

Glen Ellyn