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| Totally failed the Vision test. |
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I have had several constituents suggest a town hall meeting. My initial reaction was "NO", I've been in so many meetings about Vision 2020 and now the Budget that seem to be getting nowhere.
But what really gets me to thinking about it is that I have come up with several ideas that, yes, I do need to allow the public to have a chance to comment to me face to face. But it is hard to think of giving up another evening. What if only the people who show up are the ones I communicate with almost daily through emails and such or yet worse, they don't even come?
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| I think I give our lawyer a headache. |
The one idea that I support that seems to be the most
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| Protesting the cuts. |
troubling to some, is rolling the property taxes forward. I know of one example where the school board did that before I was on the board. In 2007, Superintendent Tyler suggested that the board roll the property taxes forward, but we had a fund balance of about $30,000,000, therefore, I didn't think it was necessary. So I, along with the majority of the board, opposed it. Now
that we are running a $20,000,000 deficit, have laid-off 300 employees and have increased the teacher/pupil ratio to who knows what limit, I think we should roll forward the property taxes and collect $6,000,000.
But only if we can use that money to reinstate SCHOOL SITE employees, teachers, secretaries/bookkeeper, office clerks music, band and art programs. I totally understand the argument about spending money wisely. There are many examples of money not used to the best ends. I have written about them in several posts. Our current budget draft is full of foolishness. Looks like the board will adopt the budget on June 21st. I am hopeful it will not be the most current budget draft. Then the first week in July will make the decision on the property taxes.
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| How I don't want them to feel. |
It is hard to agree to take more money out of people's personal budgets. But this millage was approved by voters, we just don't always collect the total amount. One person told me that is where the school board's first mistake was. He said the School Board should always roll forward the millage and collect the needed taxes and spent it on educating the students. Those are the best spend taxes. But when we go back and forth, the citizens get the feeling that we are putting a tax increase on them without their approval.
Here's what it will cost taxpayers:
For the owner of a house that qualifies for the state's $75,000 homestead exemption, that 4.61-mill increase would mean the owner of a
$100,000 house pays $11.53 more per year in property taxes to the board; a
$150,000 home, a $38.10 increase; a
$250,000 home, $80.68; a
$350,000 home, $126.78. The median price of a house in the Shreveport-Bossier City Metropolitan Statistical Area (Bossier, Caddo and DeSoto parishes) was $156,000 in the first quarter of this year, according to the National Association of Realtors. Senior citizens on fixed incomes can have their property assessments frozen, so they will not have an increase in their property taxes. That is reasonable.
It's not like this isn't going to hit me hard personally. Because I own 6 properties that will not get homestead exemption, my property tax increase is almost $300. And it already hurts in December to write the current amount. But I really can't decide this on what it does to me!
I would really feel great about rolling forward the property taxes, if we had a lean, mean budget that focused on providing the best we can afford to the classroom.
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| Dr. Dawkins is not listening. We need to be louder. |
So for these reasons I am considering a Town Hall meeting next week at 6:00. It would be Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday and hopefully in the auditorium at South Highlands.
Leave a comment on this, please.
Suggestions are welcomed.
Click here to review the budget draft. You will be disappointed in it.
http://www.boarddocs.com/la/caddo/Board.nsf/files/8HKVE87CECB2/$file/Budget%20Draft%2020110607.pdf
It is a great idea- if you can get the word out and you know all that you have to do is say the word, and I will be there with bells on! But- it needs to be decided- media alerted- papers- Facebook it ect and so on! Let me know how I can help!
ReplyDeleteI'll be there. You seem to be the only one who recognizes the fact that there are many minds out there and they all have ideas - perhaps one of those is the right one for this situation.
ReplyDeleteI am more than willing to give up another evening for my children's future. Just need to know the firm date, time and place.
ReplyDeleteMrs. Charlotte,
ReplyDeleteI am afraid that you have totally missed the boat on what the citizens are saying in regard to the layoffs and certainly the property tax roll forward. First of all, most of the people I am talking with and hearing from on this issue are not upset at the fact that some employees needed to be laid off (although we are all saddened), we are upset at the way in which the Central Office administration chose to select those picked for layoffs. They have decimated the offices of many of the higher performing schools in the parish and removed most if not all of the employees in those offices. The layoffs had nothing to do with job performance and skills, they had everything to do with seniority. It is non-sensical and quite honestly a cowardly method of layoffs. It exposes a major problem with bureaucracy to the parents and students of this parish, who assume that the school board members and administration are in it for the best interest of the students, however at a time like this we get a glimpse behind the curtain and begin to see the ugliness of politics and bureaucracy.
We understand that some layoffs are necessary, indeed, I would say that more should have occurred in light of the $15 million shortfall still in the proposed budget. You and the other board members have simply
"kicked the can down the road" and delayed the inevitable for one more year, at which point the Fund Balance will have been completely depleted and no funds will be available to help provide a temporary fix or cover payroll when the school system is out of money.
For you to want to roll forward the millage rates to collect more taxes and then use the taxes to rehire many of the laid off employees is quite frankly totally void of the common sense approach we are looking for in getting this situation back under control. If you rehire many of the employees laid off you will increase the budget deficit for the upcoming year and make the fiscal situation even worse for the next year. In addition to that, you are asking the taxpayers of this parish to give more money to a system that is broken and has proven itself to lack the fiscal discipline necessary to put the resources where they are most needed.
I say DO NOT have a town hall meeting. The citizens don't need another meeting where a few citizens share their hearts and passions and then the elected officials go ahead and do what they had already planned to do before the meeting anyway.
We need our elected and paid officials to muster the courage they promised when they asked for our vote and interviewed for their jobs and use their God-given common sense to develop solutions that will ensure our children receive the "world class" education they are being promised.
Two thoughts:
ReplyDelete1. One thing we know about common sense is that it is not so common...
2. NEVER underestimate a large group (or small, for that matter) of stupid...
3. (Just for fun! And yes I can count...) You need to know who the above Anynonmous is...That person is thinking...