Why I don't suport the school levy

I believe the past superintendent and the board has done a good job of controlling and cutting costs over the past years. I believe the board is right in putting the issue before the voters to allow the community to decide if they want to provide the district with additional resources or not.

That said, I do not support the levy because the needs of the community are being overlooked. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the average wage in Clinton County has declined over $11,000 (42%) since 2007. I do not believe it is the best interest of the children of the district to take additional money out of already strapped family budgets. Over this same period an entry level teacher hired in 2008 would have continued to get 4.2% annual wage increases totaling over $6,400 nearly a 21% increase. Teachers pay 5% of the health insurance costs for a single plan vs. 18% for the national average. Teachers pay 15% of the health insurance cost for a family plan vs. 29% for the national average.

I believe the inequality between the salaries and benefits of those working within the school and those in the community must be addressed. This will mean salary cuts and higher contributions for benefits to be more in line with the reality the community faces. Staff reductions may also be required depending on the results of salary and benefit negotiations and other cost cutting measures. This is not a war on teachers; it’s the reality of the economy the community faces. The bottom line is it’s not fair to ask an already hurting community to take a 1% pay cut while teachers continue to receive automatic 4.2% raises.

Several years ago when the economy turned down my company laid off about ~10% of our workforce and those of us that were blessed enough to remain took a 5% pay cut. Most of us preferred to take the pay cut then to see more of our friends and colleagues laid off. I had no or virtual no raises for the next couple of years. I can’t remember the last time I saw anything near a 4.2% raise.

If the levy does not pass I will not support the traditional “make-em pay” cuts such as eliminating busing and requiring pay-to-play for extra-curricular activities. These types of cuts punish the community and often end up making the community pay more than the levy cost. Extra-curricular activities play an important role in education by providing motivation, team building, and understanding the relationship of hard work to success and failure.

Another area to be considered for reduction would be the ~$82,000 we pay for dual-enrollment tuition for ~25 students to attend college courses. I think it’s great that students can attend college and earn credits but in the reality of today’s economy I don’t believe we can continue to subsidize these courses.