As I watched speaker after speaker go to the podium in the Supervisors chambers last night, requesting that the BOCS advertise a tax rate high enough to support the 5 year plan, I questioned my own sanity. Where were the thundering hordes of people I had heard about? You know, those people who wanted the tax rate frozen at some ridiculously low figure that would pretty much halt most progress in Prince William County.
Our house-mate suggested that I must have been listening to talking hand sock puppets–that old propaganda trick of making people think that there were a lot more people out there than really exist. Sometime after 9 pm, a lone man got up and asked for a 1.3% rise in taxes. Actually, I think he thought that was even too much. He was also plenty irate about the budget sheet that got sent home with each school kid. I wonder if he got irate last year and the year before that?
Sending materials home with students is the main way the school system communicates between school and home. It always has been. Just because we live in an age of technology doesn’t mean that all parents have computers. Even in households with computers, often the computers were bought for the kids to help them with their studies (forget enhancing their social life). I don’t think some of our middle and upper middle class residents understand that everyone isn’t just like them.
At any rate, I support the school system for choosing this method of educating parents about potential cuts in programs and their children’s educational program. What I don’t support is endless batch of supplies some schools require a student to have. One school not too far from my house used to require students to bring in ridiculously huge amounts of supplies. The supplies were then put in a big pool for everyone to use. I told my daughter not to dare send in supplies. I told her it was socialism. I don’t mind buying whatever it takes for my grandkids but I sure don’t want to have to buy for the entire class.
Situations like the one described above take place when schools don’t have enough discretionary funds. Yes, there will be children who don’t have supplies. Schools should have funds to make up for this deficiency. I think I would rather pay 100-200 more dollars a year on something that is a tax write off than get nickeled and dimed to death buying school supplies for some other kids. The increase in taxes is a pleasure compared to contributing to that big beg-basket at the start of each school year.
Many middle schools only have classroom sets of math books. Students don’t have an assigned math book. They can’t bring their books home. Why the hell not? Obviously, it’s a money issue. Math textbooks are critical to learning the skills of the subject. More on that later.
School board members need to see that situations like this don’t exist. I am not going to publish the name of the elementary school that made this supply practice a habit. I won’t name the middle schools that don’t assign math text books (at least not tonight) I think I will bask in the fact that most people want to support our county, county programs, and our school system. The thundering hordes were just talking hand sock puppets, all trying to look large. Actually very few of them exist.
If they do exist, then where were they?
Investing in schools and communities should be a lifetime goal for all of us.
Time to step down off the soap box for the evening.
They were:
1) Helping the homeless
2) Prision ministry
3) Second job to pay that $96 a year increase
OR
There really are only five guys in their underwear
The thundering hordes are writing e-mails….as so stated by the various BOCS and in Mrs. Caddigan’s case, printed out the stack of them to wave in the air from the dias.
The thundering hordes wrote emails? I am surprised she fell for that one again. I remember when thundering hordes wrote the BOCS members about immigration. Come to find out, most of the emails were people from the west. Not only was much of the email not from people in PWC, it wasn’t even from people in Virginia.
I must have stepped out of the room while she was waving email.
He was home in is underwear writing misleading blog posts.
@El Guapo
I guess that beats speaking into a mic at chambers and being a supervisor whisperer.
I wanted to text Corey and whisper cuss words in his ear for not voting for that 4%. He knows it was needed. I am not sure what is going on there.
Corey! Don’t let the evil twin win! Fight the forces of darkness.
I want to drink the cool-aid that the special interest spenders have been swiming in, convincing themselves of their rightous indignation. That way I can go back and enjoy watching other people pay for my benefits without guilt or responsibility. In the meantime, could we put the salaries of the School Board up for a referendum vote?
They only make about 20k as it is.
What special interest group do you think *I* am in, blue? I just want to invest in my community.
I am tired of people living in expensive homes whining and gnashing their teeth over taxes. That same house in Loudoun of Fairfax would set them back even more because of the assessment. PWC has very low assessments.
Move or buy less of a house but don’t impose cheapness on the rest of us. I am retired and I am not whining about taxes. I don’t want to live in Cheapo-ville because people bought more house than they can afford. Back when the house prices were going off the charts, I resisted selling my very middle class house because I understand that taxes go up and that payment would go up perhaps more than I wanted to pay. I was thinking ahead.
What do school board members make? In the City it’s like $6k. Even tho I don’t agree or even appreciate everything those guys do I don’t begrudge them $6k for the amount of work they put in. I certainly don’t think it worth a referendum….
@Andyh
My mistake, I was referring to the The Prince William County School Board’s action to extended Superintendent Steven L. Walts’ contract to 2018, and award him a 3-percent raise, bringing the his annual compensation package to about $390,000. Compared to the County Exec or the Chief of Police, for example, and others, this this could be subjected to a vote of confidence.
@Moon-howler
Its all relative isn’t it. The redistribution of wealth and steaply progressive taxation are the historic fundementals of – no titles or descriptive adjectives. The absolute cost of a 5 percent increase on an income of 50,000 is not the same as when applied to 150,000, but the goal is the same — to make THEM pay. Can you imagine the Whininng if we all paid the same in absolute dollar terms for the same public services?
Let me pay what you pay — or you pay what I pay (probably less) and then let me shop around for education, for recration as a user fee, or like electric and water when possible based on consumption
There’s hardly an iota of difference between Pete Candland and Corey Stewart. Both are the worst kind of opportunistic politicians who care more for their self-advancement than they do the community at large.
I’ve never had kiddos in the public schools but realize that the schools are important to a community. I’d rather not have them be the most crowded in the state. The tea baggers mentality is one of “my kids have graduated already…screw you”, “I couldn’t afford a home in Fairfax or Loudoun County so I bought the maximum I could afford here and now can’t afford the taxes so the rest of you shouldn’t expect any decent amenities”, and just lack of concern for anyone but themselves.
A lot of the crapola slung at public employees stems from the Republican mantra of privatizing retirements and social security. Well, surprise…. not many peeps knew how to invest wisely enough on their own and they’re hating those that did. It’s envy, plain and simple. They didn’t mind when private salaries and benefits outpaced those of public employees, but now they want to cry and whine about it. Get a second or third job just as some government employees – and immigrants – had to do.
@blue
I like user fees but when the price is really low the cost of collecting the user fee becomes cost prohibitive. Stopping every car on I95 for 15 minutes in order to collect a $.50 toll is penny wise and pound foolish. We fixed that by inventing electronic tolling.
The other problem with user fees is that some services benefit people indirectly. The quality of life of everyone is enhanced with educated people. Parents have some incentive to educate their children to promote their own legacy so that’s a user fee but they also have an interest in every other kid being educated and no way other than taxes to pay that fee.
The argument for progressive taxation is that the wealth of an individual could not exceed manual labor rates (what a individual alone in the wilderness could create) without the benefit of society structures. Without a banking system, intellectual property rights and police protections (i.e. rule of law) one simply can’t become wealthy or would soon be stripped of that wealth by hordes of thieves. If someone is going to use those shared institutions to amass wealth, they have an obligation to pay to support those institutions with which they use to gain and maintain their wealth.