Schools using fear-mongering to get millage passed
Thank goodness for Mr. Seelig and the Washtenaw County Republican Party ("Now is not the time for a tax increase in Washtenaw County").
Now I think Newt Gingrich lowered the bar for party politics over public interest to the lowest level possible, but someone needs to challenge the fear-mongering of the school districts, unions, and politicians in their quest to maintain their elevated financial expectations at the expense of homeowners with a seemingly endless stream of tax increases. Some of which are not even voted on but implemented at leadership discretion and just show up on my tax bill.
Where does the manipulation of the public end? The strategizing of issues on the ballet, the timing and placement of tax proposals designed to confuse or prey upon the publics’ good will with the manipulation and surgical use of facts to support their tax increases. It’s like suffering a death by a thousand small cuts, each insignificant but together very deadly.
And why aren’t the charter schools crying in their milk? Oh yeah, they don’t have unions, pensions, buyouts, tenure, or bloated administrative costs. Is it really all about the kids or is self preservation and maintaining status quo the motivating factor in these manipulative pleas for increased funds?
Frank G. Dalimonte Ann Arbor
Comments
snapshot
Wed, Oct 21, 2009 : 3:28 p.m.
Im sure Rosie has nothing but the best intentions and truly feels a tax increase is appropriate but it appears that she defends the bloated budget of unionized public schools by advocating withholding or minimizing funding and support to charter schools and then questioning the results they achieve. I do think that there is room for improvement in Charter schools and I can understand why the teachers would want jump on the public school gravy train where job security, compensation, benefits, and pensions dominate the lesson plan of the day. I'm all for giving the classroom teacher their just dues; I'm not for providing unlimited funding when they have coworkers who perform the same duties with as much dedication, with far fewer resources, for far less compensation. What makes an Ann Arbor public school teacher better than a charter school teacher that they should enjoy 100% job satisfaction in all areas of Maslows Hierarchy of Needs? And why should any public entity maintain or increase their current budgets when the rest of us non government folks are suffering significant reductions in their financial resources, don't have job security, incurring pension defaults and reductions, suffering from bureaucratic incompetence, and then are being manipulated into increased taxes to support government employees so they don't have to suffer any hardship by doing more with less? The simple fact is that many people can no longer financially afford to support your argument for a tax increase. Obviously the folks supporting the tax increase can afford it without significant sacrifice. I imagine they are good folks who just fail to realize that others are not in a position to weather a sunami of additional taxes. I imagine these folks would feel terrible if even one person lose their home, skip several meals, or are forced to forgo needed medication, or not be able to buy shoes for their own children because of increased and unaffordable taxation? I don't see any altruism in a pro tax position that continues to burden already overburdened property owners. I'm voting no on this education millage and no on the next one, and the next one, and the next one, and continue to hope that a new attitude of fiscal restraint is adopted by our leadership and our government administrators, employees, and wealthy, but misguided residents. I think a city income tax should be on this ballet rather than an educational millage. The income tax was purposely delayed in this too obvious money grab by officials who are remiss in their duty to make necessary and real sacrifices by reducing administrative costs to meet new, and more realistic budget parameters. This type of manipulation is unacceptable and should be met with a no vote on this and any future millage increase.
Rosie
Tue, Oct 20, 2009 : 5:41 p.m.
Frank, Have you ever spoken to someone who works for a charter school? Although there are a few exceptions, the majority of charter school teachers are not 100% happy with their job situation. They would like to have unions, better health benefits, more job security, etc. I work in public schools and have friends who have worked for charter schools, but they did so only because they could not obtain employment elsewhere. They would give anything to have been able to obtain a public school position. We have had many students leave public schools to go to a charter only to return. Charter schools can turn students away because of their numbers or because the student was a behavioral or academic concern that they would rather not deal with. Test scores they report are skewed because of this fact. Giving charter schools money is not the answer to the lack of proper funding in public schools.