LTE: More Like Taxpayers and Less Like Lottery Winners
- on 06.22.06
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I have excerpts from a letter to the editor in the Peoria Journal Star. This letter could be about any school district in the State or Country for that matter. [Emphasis Mine]
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It would seem money is no object with the decisions the board makes, and that taxpayers are simply people with open checkbooks and closed mouths. Someone should mention to the folks on the School Board that there are quite a few people in the greater Peoria area who pay taxes that financially support the schools, but who do not have children attending the schools. We might also have some opinions on how our money is spent. Perhaps we would all like to see a little more fiscal responsibility from our elected school officials and a little more gratitude shown toward that fiscal support. Talk of prime acreage and specialty programming that adds cost to a basic education is of less value to a community than a safe location, a well-designed building and solid academics. Maybe if the members of this board would think more like taxpayers and less like lottery winners, this community would have a better educational system for all of its students. |
The taxpayers aren’t your blank check. We cannot keep affording to pay for your extravagance, especially when you are not providing the same value to our children’s education.
There is also a story about how District 150 is making demands of the city now as well. It appears to be an attempt to force their will on the taxpayers no matter what. The sheer arrogance of educrats is astounding. Emphasis Mine.
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PEORIA – District 150’s financial request to the city for a new school is so implausible that it seems like a maneuver to derail current negotiations, Councilwoman Barbara Van Auken said Tuesday. District 150 Superintendent Ken Hinton said at a School Board meeting Monday that if Peoria officials want a new school at the site of Glen Oak Primary School, he expects the city to pay for acquiring all the properties needed. According to estimates he said city officials gave him, this could mean between $4.2 million and $5 million. Van Auken said it sounds like Hinton is saying, “I’m going to make an impossible request (of the city) so we get to do what we want to do in the first place.” “I do not support any plan to bail (the district) out because of the plans which they hatched in secrecy,” Grayeb said Tuesday. “District 150 continues to be in a free fall because of bad leadership. This is one more example of bad leadership.” |
I know every school district likes to claim they are distinct and cannot be compared to other school districts. This is a myth. The only thing different is their location and students. Just like McDonalds and Wal-Mart, schools are just a Big-Ed Franchise. Unlike, McDonalds and Wal-Mart students and parents don’t have a choice as to which store they get to use. They are assigned a franchisee by the Government. Schools need competition. This will force them to educate better because they have to compete.
The time is now for this change. We are sacrificing more children each year we delay. Government schools are dumbing kids down day by day. Are you willing to sacrifice your kids so an educrat can get remain unassailable and protected in their mediocrity? If not, then get active. Go to your school board meetings, get informed. Then spread the word to your friends and neighbors. Contact your legislators and demand changes. If they don’t listen vote them out. Votes speak very loudly. Yes, this takes much hard work and commitment. But, I ask you, aren’t your kids worth the effort?
