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But, but….it’s for the children
Never ending tax increases
A recent editorial in the local newspaper clearly defines the definition of going ballistic. At issue is the Maricopa County Republican Party’s opposition to the nearly thirty school districts across the Valley asking for voters to approve school bonds and overrides.
This is the October 16, 2015 press release that caused the commotion:
Republican Party of Maricopa County Calls For Sweeping Reforms To Override Election Laws
The Maricopa County GOP is calling for sweeping reforms to school district override election laws, in order to ensure that the voting public is no longer misled regarding how the money will be spent should the tax increase be approved.
The overwhelming majority of voters in Arizona are unaware that school districts are only legally obligated to spend override monies on the priorities outlined in the official voter pamphlets and promoted by pro-tax political action committees in the first year. After year one, school districts are free to waste the override dollars on whatever non-essential, non-classroom purposes they choose.
“Legislation to correct the widespread voter confusion as to how override dollars can be spent and the manner in which those expenditures are communicated to the public prior to the election is long overdue,” said Republican Party of Maricopa County Spokesman Jake Hoffman. “As a former elected school board member, I have sat in public meetings where in response to that these very district leaders intend to squander the money on non-classroom expenditures.
County GOP leadership is right. Regardless of the habitual, plaintive pleas from schools and cities for ever more funding, citizens are not golden egg laying geese. Arizona school children and the education they receive are too important to be left to these bait-and-switch tax schemes pushed by public school district administrators under the guise of teacher pay and smaller classes.
In a suspiciously timed August election — when low city voter turnout is guaranteed to be even lower — residents of Phoenix were asked to double the city transit tax over 35 years and spend $31.5 billion on an unaccountable light rail expansion — which is actually used by less than one percent of city residents. Thanks to solid union voting blocs — police, fire fighters, unionized teachers and city employees — this unconscionable monstrosity passed as special interest groups disproportionately skewed the vote to the left.
Now we are being told that a disaster of apocalyptic proportions will be visited upon our children if we don’t loosen up even more cash via higher property taxes. It’s a never-ending saga. As cash-strapped families are forced to get by on less, school districts think they are exempt from such belt-tightening.
Schools are teaching climate change instead of American history and recycling rather than the U.S. Constitution. Cursive is gone, ensuring the end of handwriting. College students can’t find Japan on a map, and if your math challenged child lands a job at McDonald’s he can push the pictures on the computerized screen in front of him to process the order and dump the correct change in the customer’s hand. Public school grads are unable to count back change.
We did find some humor in the newspaper’s editorial tantrum. They are still miffed that GOP County Chairman Tyler Bowyer hosted Donald Trump’s Phoenix appearance. They call Trump a “gadfly mogul” whose comments are offensive to the voters the Republican party needs to win elections — as if the newspaper liberals care whether we win elections. The censure of John McCain in numerous counties and by elected statewide Republican delegates also doesn’t sit well with the editorial board. The editorial says it was because “McCain had the good sense to pursue immigration reform,” code jargon for amnesty.
The Arizona Republic’s ranting fools fool no one.
Source: https://seeingredaz.wordpress.com/2015/10/20/but-but-its-for-the-children/
