Tax referendum petition
I'm with Ben Cunningham. We've got to get a handle on this property tax issue and I don't see the Metro Council getting it done. I've signed the petition and encouraged others to do the same.
Today's City Paper has two interesting quotes.Although some in the business community have blamed residential flight on the troubled state of the Metro school system, Cunningham countered that the surrounding counties are producing quality schools with lower property tax rates.
and“It’s difficult to get people to vote to raise their own taxes,” [political analyist Pat] Nolan said. “So it will be incumbent on the elected officials to explain why they need to retain some control over a major revenue [stream].”
And so two comments.
I regularly talk with people who are very concerned about the condition of Metro schools. Rightly, they have the best interests of the children at the forefront of their minds. They also have the reality of having to live on a budget. And so what we've done is raised taxes to a point where they cannot afford to stay here and send their children to private schools. And they cannot stay here and let their children attend their bad zoned school--magnet schools being unavailable to these unlucky families.
Additionally, both Metro and the MNPS have consistently failed over and over again with amazing arrongence to realize that they are not entitled to our money. If they want it they've got to explain to Joe Taxpayer why he and his family should do without and the Metro/MNPS need is greater.
2 comments:
Just a thought;could it be that "one" of the very many problems with the public school quality,is that it is "fairly easy" to send our children to private schools,or even home school them.Parental involvement being what it is in the public school sector,private and home schools seem to siphon off the quality of parents needed to influence change.
Just a thought.
Could those quality parents influence change by say, running for a school board position?
It is quite apparent from Ms. Brooks' exercise that you must sacrifice your children to the ineffective system or be a perpetrator of said system to even be considered a valid voice in the process. I would state that many of those "siphoned" off left in frustration with the lack of response or change they were capable of influencing as a "mere parent". Others, like me, are paying attention ahead of time.
As a parent, your immediate responsibility is to your own children, whether that is food, shelter, education or otherwise. Tackling the responsibilities of others' parenting to the detriment of your own family is self-defeating.
I will say you are on the right track, but a system that repeatedly tells parents they are unqualified and "let the professionals handle it" just isn't interested in their input - except for the cash part.
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