ECONorthwest study found. Mean-spirited
This four-year, modest ($120 a year independent
kid and teacher bashers have desperately thrown every
distortion and outright lie they can at this measure in an
on average) tax is by far the most effort to defeat it. All the opponent arguments could apply
to any government tax. The taxes for jails and potholes that
conservatives back all involve imperfect PERS benefi ts and
important thing on the ballot. Without even
more imperfect tax collection systems. The difference
here simply comes down to the sad fact that opponents
the school funding measure, 100 value prisons and asphalt more than innocent children. We
don’t, and neither should the people of Eugene.
teachers could lose their jobs and 4J
Measure 20-183 —
and Bethel kids could suffer classrooms Ballot
General obligation bonds for 4J school facilities — YES
The school board shouldn’t have put this $70 million
packed with more than 50 kids and measure
on the ballot this election. Too many people don’t
understand that this property tax measure, unlike the 20-182
school weeks cut to four days. income tax funding, won’t keep schools open, it will just
repair the buildings, and put stuff in them. Even a gleaming
new school building with the best equipment is useless
unless there is funding for teachers to keep it open. That’s
what the income tax does, not this bond measure. Under our
state’s wacky tax laws, the School District can raise taxes
for school buildings but not to actually keep them open.
We’re skeptical that the district would actually lose the $15
million in federal funding if it were not on the ballot now.
Even if that’s true, the district could have gone with a $15
million measure that could have secured the match without
making the operating measure harder to pass. That said,
we won’t take out our frustration with the board decision
on kids trying to learn in 4J’s ramshackle buildings.
Roofi ng, plumbing, heating, seismic safety, technology
improvements and new classroom confi gurations for kids
are clearly needed. If you absolutely have to choose, though,
the income tax Measure 20-182’s funding to actually run
the schools is clearly more important.
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EUGENE WEEKLY
MAY 5, 2011
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