Taxes And The School System - And Response

  • Monday, March 23, 2015

All that pay taxes cry a lot over just how awful and how high our tax bill is for the IRS, sales taxes and property tax imposed on homeowners. First, to the writer that suggested a wheel tax, a good idea and in lieu of more property taxes a better solution on the surface anyway.  

Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama pay at or near the bottom of school taxes in the nation. New York, California and even tiny District of Columbia pay substantially more tax dollars on schools.

Now before the reader starts the rant I will add that more money does not equate to better schools and lengthy separate topic on that issue of school funding and outcome. But let's look at what this proposed tax is to be used for: art teachers, teacher pay and other needed and worthy expenditures.  Art, music and related arts in the school enriches us all by the reach to the whole child and taps talent and abilities heretofore not known.  

I was in education for 40+ years. My nephew graduated five years ago with an engineering degree and his starting pay was more then my final few years. Do teachers need more money? Again, a separate and discussion worthy of a few words, but suffice to say teachers are the very first line of good that children get outside the home and for some children that teacher or teachers create a bond for the child that the parent could not or did not create.

Robert Brooks 

* * * 

And people wonder why parents are turning to private education while this debate goes on year after year, decade after decade. 

John Fricke

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