Re: (Fwd) School Taxes

[Judi Thompson <FaircoMiniMart@turbonet.com>]

Thanks for the information on the district's tax levy level.  You raise
interesting questions about the Moscow District being the fourth highest
in the state at $10.72.  I was not able to connect with the state web
site, however.  I will keep trying to find more information.  Do you
which districts are taxes more than Moscow?  

Mike Curley wrote:
> 
> Judi:
> Superintendent Ed Fisk sent back the following information:
> There is a state web site:
> sde.state.id.us/finance/docs/TaxLeviesBooklet01-02.pdf
> Our current rate (01-02) is $10.52, which is the fourth
> highest in Idaho.
> 
> Unfortunately that little bit of comparative data only makes me want more. How much per student do the others spend and what on? Should we just look at the M&O dollars and exclude the plant/facilities bonds from consideration of how we are taking care of our kids? How does the total property value (on which the tax is computed) compare with the number of students (this would get, in part, to the issue of the U of I and any other untaxed entities in a district). How do standardized test scores correlate across the state--and is it an accurate measure--for example, our population may be one of the better educated in the state on average--so we could (if that's true) expect our test scores to be higher in the first place. On the other hand, we have a fairly mobile elementary school population, and if it is in fact more mobile than other districts (again on average), then our teachers/the district has less time with a student, so the teast scores may be skewed in either direct!
 ion. I
> guess that's why social scientists insist on replicatable studies based on defined criteria, carefully collected data, and rigorous scrutiny before drawing a conclusion. Looking at data presents interesting questions, but as soon as we get to asserting a correlation between two pieces of data, we may have stepped into the deep end of the pool. It reminds me of the story of the guy who played his flute on the street corner in New York City. When someone asked him why he did it he said "to keep the elephants away." "Silly you," said the other, "there are no elephants in NYC." "Yes, see how well my playing works!" said the flutist.
> 
> Mike
> ps. I think this question may be of interest to the v2020 crowd. I can just give the information and say a(n anonymous) writer asked me, so here it is, or I can say you asked me, or you can ask the question on v 2020 and I will respond. what do you prefer/think about that?
> 
> ------- Forwarded message follows -------
> Date sent: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 09:02:26 -0800
> From: Fairco Mini-Mart
> <faircominimart@turbonet.com> To: Mike Curley
> <curley@turbonet.com> Subject: School Taxes
> 
> I know that Moscow School District has a high tax rate,
> something like $10.75 per thousand. How does that compare
> with other school districts in the state? We don't have
> much of a tax base with the university property except.
> Didn't want to post this on Vision 20/20 and get some great
> debate started.
> 
> Take care and enjoy the sunshine!
> 
> ------- End of forwarded message -------