School Board puts taxes on ballot

I hope the good people of WF are proud of their school system and do the right thing to keep it heading to the top. This was taken from another article in The Advocate today: "Ascension and West Feliciana parishes are the only school districts on track to join “A” status if they do as well as they did last year, according to the chamber’s “2011 Report on Public Education Outcomes.”" Obviously they are doing something right, and we should give them all the support they need. It is also obvious that our state leaders are not concerned with helping our public schools. They are finding every way possible to divert funds away from public education and blaming it on the teachers. I'm talking to you Mr. Jindal and company. These decision makers only see their own little "private" lives and their own little "private" friends. FREE education should always be a top priority. It is our duty to educate the children that are our future. WF has been blessed to have a public school system with such high standards and achievment. Lets keep it that way!

Just a short while ago the school board came to us with horror stories about what would happen if we didn't pass the property tax. Well, the tax passed. I voted for it. And the first thing done with the money was to give substantial raises. No one ever told us that this was basically the purpose of the property tax...raises.

Simply put, I AM NOT VOTING FOR ANY NEW PROPERTY TAX unless the school board spells-out exactly how the money will be spent...to the penny. I AM NOT VOTING FOR ANY NEW PROPERTY TAX until such time as the school board demonstrates an understanding of what WE are going through right now. Its called financial restraint. The school board has acted like a bunch of drunken sailors with our money spending everything they can get their hands on and not saving adequately "for a rainy day". My friends, its storming outside the school board office and there is not even an umbrella anywhere to be found. This surely indicates a total lack of future planning.

We have all had to tighten up the belt during these uncertain economic times and I would suggest that the school board do as we have had to do. I, as well as my 32 co-workers, have received no wage increases in almost 3 years. We have simply had to learn to live with this unpleasant reality. The school board must learn to do the same.

Now I'm sure that someone will reply and state that I don't care about our children, etc., etc., etc. This is not true. I am proud of our school system, our teachers and our high rating as compared to other school systems in our state, BUT I AM NOT VOTING FOR ANY NEW PROPERTY TAX. Learn to live with your means, school board. Surely you realized that the well had to run dry sooner or later, didn't you? Then why in hell didn't you save for a rainy day?

No New Taxes wrote:

Just a short while ago the school board came to us with horror stories about what would happen if we didn't pass the property tax. Well, the tax passed. I voted for it. And the first thing done with the money was to give substantial raises. No one ever told us that this was basically the purpose of the property tax...raises.

Ok, please understand what is being proposed: "renew an expiring 3.75-mill property tax and approve a new half-cent sales tax."

Please read this statement too: "No one offered a motion to put the 2-mill tax on the ballot, and board President Kevin Beauchamp said board members had earlier said publicly they would allow the bond tax to expire. The bonds were used to build West Feliciana Middle School.

“I hope they appreciate it for us doing what we said we’d do,” Beauchamp said."

The school board IS trying to do the best they can while keeping the community in mind.

There is no NEW property tax. Your property taxes will not go up, they will simply stay where they are. The only increase is in the sales tax. This helps generate money off of all the people that buy/use the services in WF, residents and non residents. This is the least impactful solution to residents. Tourism is one of our biggest draws to the area. The sales tax helps us to generate more income from this resource. Also, if you look around, our property taxes are actually lower than the surrounding areas. WF was able to keep them low due to having River Bend, and that money has spoiled everyone. Well, that income stream is drying up and we are suffering the effects of it. State funds were cut this past year and one of the specific reasons was b/c we do not pay enough in property taxes. The state is going to force us to put more of our own money into the system before they will increase the aid we receive. That's just a fact.

The last tax on the ballot was also a RENEWEL and NOT a new tax. And it was NOT to fund raises. Teachers and other personnel did not recieve raises at that time. It was simply to keep from losing teachers and programs.

You are correct, we have to tighten up our belts, but you still have expenses that you MUST pay. The school board just went through a "tightening of the belt" by having to close Tunica and reduce some positions. If you are struggling to pay your bills at home, what do you do? Cut cost and then look for another income stream(maybe a second job). The board has cut cost and now must look for that income stream, just like any other person would. They are a public body that works off of public funds. They can't start selling cars, building houses, or waiting tables.

We really are not being asked for much. This will not make anyone homeless. But it WILL make your home more valuable. Top rated schools have a direct impact on the value of your home and land. Compare home and land prices between East and West Feliciana an then tell me WHY there is a difference. Tell me if there is a difference in perception between the 2 neighboring parishes. I do believe you when you say you care, but I want you to understand exactly what is being proposed and why. This is NOT a new property tax, so please inform your fellow coworkers what the facts are before they form their opinions. Thanks!

By the way, before it gets said, I am NOT a school board member. Just a resident of the parish that believes in public education and especially in the good system we have in place. I would prefer to have the option of FREE education vs spending thousands of dollars on private schooling.$100 more a year in tax money seems like a good deal to me! Remember that also when you cast your vote.

I stand corrected and sincerely appreciate your stated views. I stand by my original statement that I will not vote for any new property taxes and I'm happy that I'm not being asked to; therefore, I'll vote to renew the 3.75 mill property tax. I believe this is only fair. I certainly don't want to see funds cut from our educational system. As regards the half-cent sales tax I honestly believe that this is the more fair tax that we can surely afford IF THAT ENTIRE AMOUNT OF MONEY IS DEDICATED TO AND WILL BE HANDLED BY THE SCHOOL BOARD. Can you educate me in this regard? Will 100% of the half-cent sales tax go solely to our educational system?

No New Taxes wrote:

I stand corrected and sincerely appreciate your stated views. I stand by my original statement that I will not vote for any new property taxes and I'm happy that I'm not being asked to; therefore, I'll vote to renew the 3.75 mill property tax. I believe this is only fair. I certainly don't want to see funds cut from our educational system. As regards the half-cent sales tax I honestly believe that this is the more fair tax that we can surely afford IF THAT ENTIRE AMOUNT OF MONEY IS DEDICATED TO AND WILL BE HANDLED BY THE SCHOOL BOARD. Can you educate me in this regard? Will 100% of the half-cent sales tax go solely to our educational system?

Yes, it will be soley for the school system. So, you won't see any new police cars or street signs come from this money. Thanks for your support!!!

I want to make sure and mention this as well. There will be a another item on the ballot for a 2 mil(if I recall correctly) tax increase for the construction of a new parish library. This is not to be confused with what is on the ballot for the school system, however may be equally as important. To say our library is outdated would be a huge understatement. And while a new library would not benefit some, it would help ALOT of people. We have so many children in our schools that don't have the luxury of a computer or internet access at home to do research for school projects. And you aren't going to see teenagers having study groups in our current facility. These kids need a place to help expand their knowledge when they leave school. We need to get our youngsters back into reading books. Everyone says there is not enough to offer the kids in the area. Well, this could be a very good one. A place they could meet up with their friends, sit in a safe place, maybe hangout in an outdoor patio area, and do something productive. It gives people a reason to stay and raise their families in the area as well. We don't won't to loose families that could be providing worth to our community. But if we sit back and let the younger generation move elsewhere to seek these better opportunities, everyone will suffer. So please consider this item as well and see it as positive growth that we so desperately need.

No New Taxes wrote:

I stand corrected and sincerely appreciate your stated views. I stand by my original statement that I will not vote for any new property taxes and I'm happy that I'm not being asked to; therefore, I'll vote to renew the 3.75 mill property tax. I believe this is only fair. I certainly don't want to see funds cut from our educational system. As regards the half-cent sales tax I honestly believe that this is the more fair tax that we can surely afford IF THAT ENTIRE AMOUNT OF MONEY IS DEDICATED TO AND WILL BE HANDLED BY THE SCHOOL BOARD. Can you educate me in this regard? Will 100% of the half-cent sales tax go solely to our educational system?

Also, there were no raises from the last tax extension. Because of the increase that the parish must pay for retirement benefits all teachers actually received a small cut in pay instead of receiving our annual tiny pay increase that barely covers inflation. Because of "no child left behind" each year we work harder, longer hours and are expected to have Better results while our pay is actually going down. Imagine a job where no matter what effort you put into it or what results you get you know your pay will not be substantially affected. Such a situation encourages mediocrity, yet our system keeps improving, which is a testament to the selfless dedication of some of our educators.

I support the renewal, not a new tax. No new taxes. The government needs to learn to survive on the same slice of the pie, which is hefty enough already. They need to grow the size of the pie. We already pay an economic development tax to do that and we have seen ZERO economic development as a result. Now, if someone wants to cancel the economic development tax and give that money to the schools, I am OK with that. Or, conversely, they can start being effective with the economic development tax money and grow our economy, which will result in increased tax revenues - so there is no need for a tax percentage increase.

Maybe we do need a new library but do we need it right now? Can we afford it right now? The answer is a solid NO. There are many things we need in this parish but one has to ask themselves if we need these things right now. What we need and what we can afford are two entirely different considerations. I feel that we do need a new library but I also feel that we don't need it right now because we cannot afford it, and of course I'm talking about any new taxes for the library. We can't afford ANY new taxes and that's the end of the story. I'm voting NO.

What was the amount of the reduced enrollment in real numbers and as a percentage of the student population?
What proportional cuts were made, if any, in response to this reduction?

EWO wrote:

What was the amount of the reduced enrollment in real numbers and as a percentage of the student population?
What proportional cuts were made, if any, in response to this reduction?

Why won't someone answer this poster? The numbers are most important and should be significant in helping us decide as to how we'll vote. EWO has posted two very serious questions that desperately need to be addresses. ANYBODY?

What wrote:

<quoted text>Why won't someone answer this poster? The numbers are most important and should be significant in helping us decide as to how we'll vote. EWO has posted two very serious questions that desperately need to be addresses. ANYBODY?

Maybe, just maybe no one on here knows the answer,,,just saying. We are all (most of us) just locals discussing local issues. There is absolutely nothing that will be solved on here.

Why wrote:

<quoted text>
Maybe, just maybe no one on here knows the answer,,,just saying. We are all (most of us) just locals discussing local issues. There is absolutely nothing that will be solved on here.

Don't think for a second that the school board members and administrators of the school system aren't following this topic on this site quite closely. They know the answers. Wonder why we can't get at least one of them to answer. Surely it couldn't be that they have something to hide. Or could they?????

What wrote:

<quoted text>Don't think for a second that the school board members and administrators of the school system aren't following this topic on this site quite closely. They know the answers. Wonder why we can't get at least one of them to answer. Surely it couldn't be that they have something to hide. Or could they?????

Why not call your school board and ash?

Oops. Ask
,

Shopper wrote:

<quoted text>
Why not call your school board and ash?

Why should I? If "they" want me to vote for their tax they would be best advised to answer questions regardless of where the questions are posed. So why not Topix?

What wrote:

<quoted text>Why should I? If "they" want me to vote for their tax they would be best advised to answer questions regardless of where the questions are posed. So why not Topix?

Really? You have the expectation that the school board should be reading Topix to answer your questions? I honestly don't know what else to say about that.

EWO wrote:

What was the amount of the reduced enrollment in real numbers and as a percentage of the student population?
What proportional cuts were made, if any, in response to this reduction?

I can't shoot off "real" numbers from the top of my head, but student population has been going down for some time. There is a video of a police jury meeting in which Mr. Lindsey specifically talked about this issue years ago. He warned everyone then that this day would come, and here it is. Here is the video on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch... .

This past year the decision was made to close Tunica Elementary. Specifically b/c there was not enough students to warrent keeping it open and to keep having those expenses. State and Federal money was cut from the schools b/c of less students. Yet the state and federal government keep enforcing new requirements on our schools. It cost money to put these things in place. And just like everyone elses bills have gone up, so has the schools. They don't get a reduced electric bill, or cheaper food, or cheaper gas. They are no longer able to pay for teacher expeses to attend MANDATORY workshops that the state requires them to participate in. So the teachers have to foot those bills. The cuts they make are not always obvious and seen be the public, but they are making them. Having to ask for tax money is the LAST thing you ever want to do, but sometimes it is neccessary. As I said before, I would much rather pay a few cents more at the grocery store than to have to relocate my kids into another school. Or to suffer through them attending a declining school. Plus, the sales tax generates money from EVERYONE that purchases items in the parish, not just the residents. That's why a sales tax was proposed and not an increase in property taxes. That is your board taking you into consideration when making decisions.

What wrote:

<quoted text>Why should I? If "they" want me to vote for their tax they would be best advised to answer questions regardless of where the questions are posed. So why not Topix?

School board meetings are open to the public for a reason. Public input and questions from the public are invited. If you are truly insterested in this issue you woukd make an effort to find out. Most of this topix board is trash and I often wonder why I read it. It surely is not the official. vehicle used to inform the public by any elected body.

Best regards,

Many, many people with whom I have spoken have very strong negative attitudes towards a property tax increase and a sales tax increase at this time. The majority attitude seems to be "I simply can't afford it". Now I truly don't know how I'm going to vote yet. The words of a previous poster keep going through my head, "Then why in hell didn't you save for a rainy day"? This seems to be a fair question. At one time the school board supposedly had millions of dollars and are now broke. Kind of like someone winning the lottery then going ahead and spending all of the winnings until they are flat out of money. I find it hard to feel sorry for such a person and, perhaps, such a school board.