Dear Readers,
On Tuesday, November 8th, there will be a special override election in the Combs Unified School District, in San Tan Valley. The schools want more money. They want about two million dollars, in addition to all the money they're already getting, over the next three years.
To obtain the desired additional funds, the school districts have proposed increasing property taxes.
There are two propositions on the ballot, propositions 1 and 2. Proposition 1 will allow the School District to spend 10 % more than the state budget allows them to. Proposition 2 will allow the School District to spend 5 % more than the state budget allows them to. (What happens if they both pass? Does the district get to spend 15 % more than the state budget allows? I think so.) Both propositions stipulate that the additional spending will be funded entirely by new property taxes on properties located within the school district.
For a person who owns a home valued at $97,770, (which is a few thousand more than my house is worth) it will cost an additional $176.34 a year. That's $ 14.70 a month. I'm getting this information from the pamphlet I got in the mail.
And if you own a business that's valued around 2 million dollars and is located within the school district, your business will pay an extra $7,132.90 a year.
Please vote no on both 1 and 2.
Here's a few reasons why you should vote no:
1. More taxes are bad for the economy.
2. Schools already have enough money. Lack of funding is not the issue. Mismanagement of funds is the issue.
3. Schools never stop asking for money. If Propositions 1 and 2 pass, soon the school will find that they need more money.
4. Proposition 100 passed. Wasn't that supposed to rescue the schools from financial ruin?
5. The increased taxes will stick around for 7 years. In 7 years, I'll bet that Combs USD will ask for a renewal of the increased property taxes.
6. If they cut a few extracurricular activities at the schools, so what? So the students may get to take a few less field trips. Big deal. Parents can hire a private person to teach their children music or art or sports. You can play on teams. Kids can join clubs. There are community theaters. There are church groups that have all sorts of youth activities. I know private sector football clubs are not the same as high school football, but we taxpayers need to take a stand somewhere. When I was a kid, I didn't participate all that much in extracurricular activities. I mostly built forts in the desert, and listened to Bob Dylan and read comic books alone in my room. And look at me now! I turned out great! The privileged teenagers may whine for a few weeks, and the union members may whine for a few years, but they'll get over it, eventually.
7. Schools waste too much money on technology.
8. Money is power. Whenever you pay taxes, you surrender a little bit of your power to the government. Of course we need some taxes, for roads and the military and for all of the other constitutional actions of government, but we don't need nearly as much taxation as we have now.
9. There are those who say that church and state should be kept separate. Maybe school and state should also be kept separate.
10. If it turns out that the Combs Unified School District starts failing, then I would suggest taking your kids out of public schools and putting them into private schools, charter schools, or religious schools, or educate them at your own home. Or let them go uneducated and make them work in a factory or on a farm. That will build character, and schooling is overrated anyway.
11. If you feel heartless voting no on 1 and 2, soothe yourself by writing to your Representatives and Senators in Congress and telling them to support school vouchers. I think school vouchers will go a long way to fixing our education system.
12. I've already written about wasteful spending in education, and at Combs USD in particular, before.
I'm sure some will call me Mr. Merciless for voting to keep my property taxes at their current levels, but I can endure name-calling, especially entertaining, alliterative name-calling. In fact, alliterative name-calling is quite fun. Why don't you call me The Heartless Hermit? I can take that. Or how about a Dastardly De-funder? Those descriptions slide right off me, I'll have you know, you Terrible Tax-Raiser, you Limp-necked Liberal, you Pricey Public-School Promulgating Pansy!
Sincerely,
Telemoonfa
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7 comments:
Couldn't agree more! What's even "better" is how our school-age children are being taught that the Propositions(Prop 100 included)are the only way that their education and teachers can remain. Therefore, they are creating a rising generation of brainwashed future-voters who believe that the "Robin Hood principle" and "Bandage method" are beneficial or crucial for our society. Our daughter was extremely stressed when Prop. 100 came about because she loved her teachers and they were telling the kids that if their parents did not vote "Yes" on Prop. 100 that their teachers would be out of work. Thankfully, we saw that experience as an opportunity to re-inform her based on our knowledge. Sadly, the majority of her classmates most likely did not receive the same from their parents. My 2 cents.
~Missy
Obvisouly you have NOT educated yourself on this matter because it would have costed you $2.50 a month! There have already been huge budget cuts from this not passing at Combs. About a dozen teachers were fired, custodial staff fired, assistant principals fired, sports and choir at the middle school cut. FYI what parent would send their child to a school that looked dirty, the landscape was completely dead, and they were using chalkboards. Smartboards do end up paying for themeselves because teachers are using as much paper and markers which all cost money! This ONE override has already had a huge impact on the way the district is running and if the next one isn't pasted Combs is going to be cut down to the bare bones.
I found this and you absolutely disgust me. I'm a student of Combs High School and thanks to you, two classes I was going to take next year to help get a career when I'm older, are being cut. On top of that, we are not getting any money AT ALL. That 2 mil. was supposed to make up for what we haven't had in years. Also your sources are completely biased, and on top of that, perhaps you should go back to gradeschool and learn how to write a proper essay. This is garbage. Your grammar is horrendous and you obviously lack the proper instruction to write a simple persuasive essay. Another thing, do not assume that farmers and factory workers are un-educated, and that everyone has the money for private schools and lessons. Also do not assume that every parent has the ability to home school. So thank you and your ignorance, for making it more difficult for me to get a career in the future. Along with hundreds of other students at Combs High School.
I like pickles darharnar!
It concerns me that uneducated twits like you influence others decisions. Who are you to say what is best for the new generation when you can't provide evidence for your own poorly stated facts? Please do your research before you write about a matter such as this. Apparently you need someone to enlighten you upon the importance of education. Additionally, your views on the economy worry me. Taxes are not "bad for the economy". They're necessary to keep the economy afloat. If you've learned anything from the mediocre schooling you've received, you should have at least been taught that.
I've been a part of the Combs district for nine years, and many of my intelligent peers have lost opportunities because of their low funding and reputation. Have some respect for the lives you're affecting and keep your arrogant comments to yourself. I'd like to take a moment to thank you and your greedy generation for setting mine up for failure.
Americans with an 8th grade education built this nation and won the second world war. Folks with master's degrees in gender studies and peace studies and postcolonial studies and queer studies are destroying it.
If we're going to turn this country around, we need more self-suffiency and less government. Less taxes = less government = more freedom = more prosperity.
“Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'”
― Isaac Asimov
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