Re: Can't keep quiet any longer!!!

[Brett Bennett <Brett@bennett-lumber.com>]

Tim .. I see it as well  .. you nailed it on the head.. 

 The more housing or large builings that the U of I takes off the tax rolls by purchasing them or building them.  ( old Cavanaughs, etc etc)  the less taxes the city has to claim.      Some where this has to STOP!!

Brett Bennett


>>> Tim Clyde <tclyde@moscow.com> 12/08/01 05:37PM >>>
I really resent some of the teachers in this district for whining to our
kids about the levy not passing and attempting to scare the kids by
telling them all sorts of stories on what will be cut. No one knows at
this point what will be cut and what will not. So I ask them to stop
dropping all this on our kids. Our kids can*t do anything about it so
leave them alone!!!!

As for the levy not passing, this is some of the best news I have had in
a long time!!! Money is not the big problem here. The way I understand
it we are among the highest taxed districts in state, if not the
highest. And our schools are still not up to the standard they need to
be. If this is in fact true, then money is not the problem. The problem
is how this money is being used and managed. We need to start at the
management level and see where it is being misused. First thing we need
to do is get a new superintendent who does not believe that every
problem can be solved by throwing more money at it. We all know that
there are some extremely good teachers here and we also know that there
is some dead wood too. Let*s get rid of the dead wood, pay our good
teachers more, and see if this helps. IT should!!!! Teachers should not
be let go or kept on the grounds of longevity. They should be judged on
performance alone!!!! It is simple, keep the good ones and get rid of
the bad ones.

As for the buildings, the buildings don*t teach our kids, the teachers
do. If you have good teachers, they could use a barn and our kids would
still learn. The thing I don*t understand is that they say we are losing
students, but our class sizes are growing??? I guess I need someone to
explain this theory to me.

Parents also need to get off their butts and work with their kids.
Parents need to work with the teachers and back them up. Teach our kids
to respect teachers and strongly discipline them when they don*t. I
myself was never what you would call a good student, but I did show them
respect. My folks made sure of that, and that*s the way it should be!!!

As for the way we fund our schools this needs to change!! I know I am
not alone in this thought and I as well as many other people I have
talked to will never vote for an increase as long as it is a tax on
property. We have people using our schools and not paying a dime to do
so. The biggest problem here is the Family Housing on the U of I. The
way I understand it, and if I am wrong please tell me, there are no
taxes paid on the Family Housing units when they where built and there
is no property tax paid on them now. Also there is no use fee charged to
the families that are using our school and yet they are allowed to vote
on levies that would raise property taxes!!! This is not right!!! The
burden needs to be shifted to a state-wide sales tax and then everyone
is paying for our school system!!!

I know I*ve been a little long winded, but felt I needed to put my two
cents in. I know that there are people who disagree with me, and those
that agree. This is fine we need to figure out where to go from here.
All I know for sure is that throwing more money at the problem is not
the answer!!!!

Property tax payer and parent:
Tim Clyde
Lisa Clyde



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