Time for the weekly plea for higher taxes from The Huntsville Times
Same bat time, same bat channel.
On June 3, Madison County voters overwhelmingly rejected a half-cent sales tax increase to allow the three local school systems to build, expand and renovate schools. The defeat at the polls came after a similar verdict was rendered by the Madison County Commission in 2007. And yet local school officials keep talking about tax increases and how to achieve them.
What’s wrong with these people? Are they stupid?
No, they’re not. They don’t talk about higher taxes because they haven’t heard the voters. Rather, they talk about higher taxes because these officials have to deal on a daily basis with the need for adequate and modern school buildings.
The current revenue stream is simply insufficient to meet the demands created by rising enrollment on Madison and Madison County and by the need for new schools to replace aging ones in Huntsville. At the moment, a stagnant economy means that natural growth in the collection of existing taxes cannot be expected with any certainty.
It never ends with these guys.
If the economy is stagnant then is raising taxes – for any reason – really the best thing to do? John Ehinger goes on to state rather unequivocally that “all three systems need money.” Please, hold your laughter. If memory serves Huntsville’s schools operate at 60-something percent capacity and have per pupil revenue rivaling that of the elite Randolph School. THEY DON’T NEED MORE MONEY.
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