Letters to the editor

OPINION: Ann Arbor schools don't need a 'technology' tax

Posted on Sun, Mar 11, 2012 : 7:07 a.m.

I have a few comments about the school millage story that appeared in your March 1 paper. The proposed school millage increase is being fraudulently misrepresented as a “technology” tax. What is really being approved is more school taxation so that teachers and school administrators can keep their excessively high wages, benefits, and pensions.

In normal non-governmental businesses, technology is funded and is part of the regular operating budget. It does not receive special separate funding. That would be true or should be true of the Ann Arbor School District budget but they have a problem. They don't have the money to fund their lavish personnel costs. So up pops a solution. Create a special millage and say it is for technology. That is dodge and a very unworthy dodge.

So do you think folks living in Ann Arbor are happy to increase their already very high tax burden so that school district employees can get special deals? Remember, people working in private industry with comparable levels of skills, training and education do not come close to matching what school employees get.

One last point: Why do school millage increases always seem to occur in the dead of the night -- like in May -- when turnout is sure to be very low and the people most likely voting are those who will and are benefiting from public largesse? Shouldn't these elections be decided by large numbers of voters at regularly scheduled federal election dates?

Roger A. Kuhlman
Ann Arbor