To the Editor:

My annual property tax bill just increased by eight percent primarily because of an adjustment to the assessed value of my land, not the house. Is the eight percent increase a reaction to the lowering of the values of the higher priced non-selling homes in Princeton, and are the rest of us making up the difference?

The cost of the school referendum is estimated to be approximately $800 additional taxes for several years for the average assessed home value in Princeton of $837,000. The taxes on the average home are already about $20,000 a year so that is an additional four percent. Remember 50 percent of Princeton homes are above average, many way above average. For a million-dollar home, the tax increase will be about $1,000 a year. And all of that is without any increase in the schools’ operating budget.

Princeton has great teachers and great students. Isn’t there a more creative, cost-effective way to continue the tradition?

STEPHEN T. SCHREIBER

Prospect Avenue