Wednesday, March 15, 2006
District 300 Tax Hikers Take Two More Body Blows
The (Elgin) Daily Courier-News and the Daily Herald (not to be confused with the Crystal Lake-based Northwest Herald) delivered two body blows to District 300 tax hikers today.
Both strongly opposed the effort to raise the tax rate by 55-cents per $100 of assessed valuation. (Yesterday, the NW Herald endorsed this tax hike but with a small “y” in its headline.)
The two papers joined the Northwest Herald in endorsing the bond referendum, however.
At least the negative publicity was not on the front page, as it was on Sunday in the NW Herald and the Courier-News.
Guess the logic of opponents like Larry Snow, who met, along with other opponents, with editorial boards in Elgin and Crystal Lake, isn’t as flaky as the tax hikers would have you believe.
The Daily Herald says vote for the $185 million in bonds because it won’t hurt you anymore than you are being hurt now. If you vote “No,” however, you’ll save $192 per year, assuming you have a $200,000 home.
But, the paper notes,
From low of $361 to high of $577. Average annual cost over 20 years: $461
The 55-cent tax rate hike gets a big “NO.”
Until when?
And,
Employees…either are part of the solution or there won’t be one.
Anyone interested in running for school board next year?
The Daily Courier-News is equally negative:
“A doomsday scenario needs to be bolstered by evidence more compelling than what the district has presented…
“We cannot urge residents to vote for something as costly as this without complete confidence in the numbers the district is using to justify the need…
“So far, that (financial) picture appears to have brightened considerably since the board took its vote in January.”
I wonder if any of the "Vote Yes" signs will come down or will people leave them up and just vote "No."
Both strongly opposed the effort to raise the tax rate by 55-cents per $100 of assessed valuation. (Yesterday, the NW Herald endorsed this tax hike but with a small “y” in its headline.)
The two papers joined the Northwest Herald in endorsing the bond referendum, however.
At least the negative publicity was not on the front page, as it was on Sunday in the NW Herald and the Courier-News.
Guess the logic of opponents like Larry Snow, who met, along with other opponents, with editorial boards in Elgin and Crystal Lake, isn’t as flaky as the tax hikers would have you believe.
The Daily Herald says vote for the $185 million in bonds because it won’t hurt you anymore than you are being hurt now. If you vote “No,” however, you’ll save $192 per year, assuming you have a $200,000 home.
But, the paper notes,
Taxpayers will repay $344 million, or $1.86 for every $1 borrowed (because of backloading the funds). National financial experts say a reasonable payback for such bonds is $1.50 to $1…Here’s the cost of a 55-cent rate hike, according to the Daily:
From low of $361 to high of $577. Average annual cost over 20 years: $461
The 55-cent tax rate hike gets a big “NO.”
Until when?
…until we see numbers that don’t change with every challenge, assurances that employees will be part of the financial solution and a defter touch on the budget-cutting knife.The editorial trashes the threat of ending sports and extracurricular activities, calling them the “soul” of a student’s experience, noting they have little financial impact.
The board’s scorched earth approach seems excessive and manipulative, given the many questions elsewhere.Ouch!
And,
The district low-balled its revenues numbers early. When challenged, revenue numbers were revised upward, reducing the needed cuts. But the board reaffirmed the damaging cuts for 2006-07 anyway. That’s a stubbornness that borders on irresponsible, given the impact. Reduced wage costs and smaller cuts would cover the $2.5 million we believe needs paring for next year.The paper says the teachers contract should have been agreed upon before the referendum and urges a multi-year contract with frozen or minimal increases:
Employees…either are part of the solution or there won’t be one.
Anyone interested in running for school board next year?
The Daily Courier-News is equally negative:
the district has used an absolutely worst-case scenario of high student growth and artificially low revenues in justifying the 55-cent figure…asking taxpayers to fund only the most dire projection is not prudent.Cited as examples were
· the low-balling of State Aid to Education that Larry Snow pointed out in his presentation to the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Rotary Club meeting and“Growth and revenue estimates are fluid, but vastly different numbers are unsettling…
· revising “sharply higher its estimate of the district’s 2006 equalized assessed valuation.”
“A doomsday scenario needs to be bolstered by evidence more compelling than what the district has presented…
“We cannot urge residents to vote for something as costly as this without complete confidence in the numbers the district is using to justify the need…
“So far, that (financial) picture appears to have brightened considerably since the board took its vote in January.”
I wonder if any of the "Vote Yes" signs will come down or will people leave them up and just vote "No."
Comments:
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Well, wow....
Perhaps the school industry will start taking notice that even the newspapers are no longer accepting bad numbers, fuzzy logic, poor management and "attitude" from local school districts anymore.
Thank you DAILY HERALD and SUBURBAN CHICAGO/COURIER for not rubber stamping yet another school district tax increase. D-300 needs to go back to the financial chalkboard and "recrunch" its numbers.
Silence by the media and by the people who pay the school industry's bills has been the enemy of change for decades.
Silence has hurt our kids and education.
A great district means nothing if people can't afford to live there.
Perhaps the school industry will start taking notice that even the newspapers are no longer accepting bad numbers, fuzzy logic, poor management and "attitude" from local school districts anymore.
Thank you DAILY HERALD and SUBURBAN CHICAGO/COURIER for not rubber stamping yet another school district tax increase. D-300 needs to go back to the financial chalkboard and "recrunch" its numbers.
Silence by the media and by the people who pay the school industry's bills has been the enemy of change for decades.
Silence has hurt our kids and education.
A great district means nothing if people can't afford to live there.
I think if they studied Cal's website they would have said to vote no on the building referenda too. It is sad that the developers and village boards across the state are making taxpayers who have already paid for schools pay for more schools.
I like how the DH said that taxes will go down 192 dollars a year if this fails. To a lot of people 192 dollars is a great deal of money and they just may think I would rather keep my money. This is one thing teachers and administrators just do not understand never living in the real word and having to deal with social security as opposed to outrageous pensions they will never understand this.
Cathy
I like how the DH said that taxes will go down 192 dollars a year if this fails. To a lot of people 192 dollars is a great deal of money and they just may think I would rather keep my money. This is one thing teachers and administrators just do not understand never living in the real word and having to deal with social security as opposed to outrageous pensions they will never understand this.
Cathy
I agree with you both 4piggybanks and Cathy. Thank you for your opinion and consideration of others as well.
Thanks Cal for the write up.
Thanks Cal for the write up.
Re: Robbing Peter (and Mary) to pay Paul (and Paulette) teachers
(First - no I don't hate teachers. Second - geez I hate to have to do modifiers all the time in print.)
When I hear a District CFO sounding "wounded" because money is taken/moved or whatever from pensions to cover other bills - all my brain is saying is that most people have no pensions or the ones they had crashed. I also "hear" the "kaching" sound of mandatory yearly raises, payment for degrees not applicable to the job being performed, double plus the salary of an new incoming teacher for the same job - simply because someone has been around a lot longer, early retirement, etc.
The truly "wounded" people I see in my mind, in my heart, in my circle, and on the streets are the people whose income and benefits simply can't keep up with paying for all of these things. This excerpt from the DH piece told me a lot -
"Its contract with teachers expires this summer. A deal prior to the election would have assured voters their money wouldn’t go mostly for pay raises. School officials said they would keep pay hikes in check, but we believe the public needs more than vague promises. If the tax hike fails, the district should:
•Immediately drop plans for extracurricular cuts for 2006-07. There is no going back from this draconian decision; it should be delayed.
•Ink a multiple-year teacher pact that includes a freeze or minimal increases. Employees represent the greatest part of the budget. They either are part of the solution or there won’t be one."
Thank you DH for wording it far better than I can.
--------- Frankly, I'm beginning to think that the school industry keeps looking in its magic mirror and always hears "You are the fairest of them all."
The magic mirror is actually saying something else but the school industry just won't listen....
(First - no I don't hate teachers. Second - geez I hate to have to do modifiers all the time in print.)
When I hear a District CFO sounding "wounded" because money is taken/moved or whatever from pensions to cover other bills - all my brain is saying is that most people have no pensions or the ones they had crashed. I also "hear" the "kaching" sound of mandatory yearly raises, payment for degrees not applicable to the job being performed, double plus the salary of an new incoming teacher for the same job - simply because someone has been around a lot longer, early retirement, etc.
The truly "wounded" people I see in my mind, in my heart, in my circle, and on the streets are the people whose income and benefits simply can't keep up with paying for all of these things. This excerpt from the DH piece told me a lot -
"Its contract with teachers expires this summer. A deal prior to the election would have assured voters their money wouldn’t go mostly for pay raises. School officials said they would keep pay hikes in check, but we believe the public needs more than vague promises. If the tax hike fails, the district should:
•Immediately drop plans for extracurricular cuts for 2006-07. There is no going back from this draconian decision; it should be delayed.
•Ink a multiple-year teacher pact that includes a freeze or minimal increases. Employees represent the greatest part of the budget. They either are part of the solution or there won’t be one."
Thank you DH for wording it far better than I can.
--------- Frankly, I'm beginning to think that the school industry keeps looking in its magic mirror and always hears "You are the fairest of them all."
The magic mirror is actually saying something else but the school industry just won't listen....
Gosh, 4PiggyBanks, I have even been a part of that system you speak, and I could not agree with you more !. And just think, when for a couple of years (when I was in semi-good health)I was working for a corrupt but decent paying company that paid me my only pension I ever receive in my entire life. Guess what though? Businesses must RUN LIKE A BUSINESS AND HAVE TO BE ACCOUTNABLE 200 PERCENT? They were mismanaged and went out spending spending spedning and management kept taking bigger and bigger bonuses and raise. What happened at the end? I lost EVERYTHING ! MY pension, my job, my salary, my emotional health and more. Why, the business filed, despite being the WORLDS LARGEST IN THEIR FIELD filed bankruptcy? Why? Mismanagement !!! Did my opinion concern them as a stockholder or employee? NOPE !
I recieved numerous awards as well as an employee too. I was loved by the people I taught. I was loved by the companies I was contracted to. I was loved by my employer as well. I can go on and I say this all in a modest fashion.
My point,
Teacher unions and the school system have a monopoly sadly. I do not approve of it depsite that I could be gaining from it. The facts are the facts. Keep an eye on John Stoesell and keep following his upcoming reports. After his one nationwide study was performed (and included both the richest schools and the poorest low income housing schools) and accurately proved and concluded that MONIES DO NOT EQUAL BETTER EDUCATION. After this, another report he and ABC News conducted, showed the myriad, filters, buffers, conditions and hurdles that prevent a poor quality teacher from even being fired. It is sad. We have an over abundance of qualified people out there who would be able to teach and are certified. Why does the Statye allow this? Why are they condoning it? Why not go around the union like ANY OTHER BUSINESS? Why doesn't the state offer competency tests for parents at schools so they can teach on a voluntary basis with possible tax credits?
There are other incentinves and other sources of monies out there and other systems which have been proven to work - like a voucher system. Our government condones so much pork spending so I guess the idea WILL NOT BE COMING for that direction. It must come from the grass roots - all these are ideas I have spoken with state officials and sadly, they get NO WHERE.
I agree, in being a teacher myself, I do not see that the GOOD TEACHERS are a problem. Do I feel the compensation plan is a bit unfair? Yes, but in a sense that is to me at less, is too good for the teachers. I do not know of ANY OTHER JOB that offers those perks and such and with such a difficult firng procedure. I know many EXCELLENT TEACHERS myself. I know mmany EXCELLENT SCHOOLS as well. And many of those schools don't even depend on taxpayers dollars? I have worked them as well. I would encourage anyone to learn how and why they do so well and what what is the difference in their philosophies.
I recieved numerous awards as well as an employee too. I was loved by the people I taught. I was loved by the companies I was contracted to. I was loved by my employer as well. I can go on and I say this all in a modest fashion.
My point,
Teacher unions and the school system have a monopoly sadly. I do not approve of it depsite that I could be gaining from it. The facts are the facts. Keep an eye on John Stoesell and keep following his upcoming reports. After his one nationwide study was performed (and included both the richest schools and the poorest low income housing schools) and accurately proved and concluded that MONIES DO NOT EQUAL BETTER EDUCATION. After this, another report he and ABC News conducted, showed the myriad, filters, buffers, conditions and hurdles that prevent a poor quality teacher from even being fired. It is sad. We have an over abundance of qualified people out there who would be able to teach and are certified. Why does the Statye allow this? Why are they condoning it? Why not go around the union like ANY OTHER BUSINESS? Why doesn't the state offer competency tests for parents at schools so they can teach on a voluntary basis with possible tax credits?
There are other incentinves and other sources of monies out there and other systems which have been proven to work - like a voucher system. Our government condones so much pork spending so I guess the idea WILL NOT BE COMING for that direction. It must come from the grass roots - all these are ideas I have spoken with state officials and sadly, they get NO WHERE.
I agree, in being a teacher myself, I do not see that the GOOD TEACHERS are a problem. Do I feel the compensation plan is a bit unfair? Yes, but in a sense that is to me at less, is too good for the teachers. I do not know of ANY OTHER JOB that offers those perks and such and with such a difficult firng procedure. I know many EXCELLENT TEACHERS myself. I know mmany EXCELLENT SCHOOLS as well. And many of those schools don't even depend on taxpayers dollars? I have worked them as well. I would encourage anyone to learn how and why they do so well and what what is the difference in their philosophies.
P.S. - And I was NOT directing my comment in anyway to you Cal, when I say "government". I mean as a whole and use it loosely. I praise you Cal, for what you do and have done. Your record speaks for itself. I have said that to you personally myself.
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