4/26/06
Heat over school taxes
by Joe Nathan
Taxes, health and heat. Thatís what I hear about regularly from a number of people who read this column, and are very frustrated with school districts. My sense is that they have a lot of company.
A poll on the Minnesota School Board Association Webs ite helps illustrate the ambivalence many Minnesotans feel about funding schools. The poll was done in late August 2005, and asked a sample of 500 suburban Minnesotans how they felt about funding for schools. Among the findings are these:
* 50.2% agreed or strongly agreed with the statement ěthe state of Minnesota has adequately funded public education in recent years.î 47.6% disagreed, or strongly disagreed.
* 67% do not think that funding increases provided by the 2005 legislature meant that schools ěhave all the funds needed to avoid future budget cuts.î
* When told that the Legislature had increased funding by 4% for the next two years, the percent agreeing that schools do not have enough money to avoid future budget cuts dropped to 51.6%.
A number of senior citizens write to me, frustrated about what they see as ongoing referendum requests, and an unwillingness of school districts to be fiscally responsible.
Letís talk about referendum costsÖI think Minnesota is making a mistake by relying more and more on property taxes to fund public schools. Our organization worked with the National Governorsí Association over the last several years, to develop recommendations for states about how to improve public education. In the Providing Quality Choice Options in Education, report, we recommended that states move toward greater, rather than lower, statewide funding for educationÖ.îIncrease the state share of education fundingÖî
Relying more on local property taxes means there will be greater inequities among schools and districts. Seems to me like a similar amount of funding should be available for funding students, whether they live in rural, suburban or urban areas.
Maybe thatís ivory tower idealism. But isnít it also about equity and fairness?
Seniors sometimes face major challenges with rising real estate costs. Here are parts of just two of the frustrated notes from seniors:
ě Approval of all requests has resulted in substantial increases in property taxes for this year. One of the things I noticed was the district did not say exactly how and for what programs the money would be spent. On the surface it appears the requests are on shaky grounds.î
Another person wrote, ěDo we have good schools out here - the answer is yes. Are they cost effective - the answer is no.î
Districts respond, in part, that health care and energy cost of health are increasing dramatically. More money can help ń but we also can run schools more efficiently.
Former U.S. Supreme Court Judge Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote, ěTaxes are what we pay for civilized society.î But we need more discussion about HOW we pay for schools, and what we are paying for.î
Joe Nathan, a former public school teacher and administrator, directs the Center for School Change, Humphrey Institute, University of Minnesota jnathan@hhh.umn.edu
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