When the voters defeated the schools' previous levies they didn't mean, "Please put the levies up again - we like them." They meant, "The schools must learn to live within their present budget ... No more levy attempts ... No means no ... Make the cuts as you said you would."
It's wrong for the schools to propose a tax increase when so many people from the community have just lost their jobs and so many others are just struggling to hold on to their jobs, pay their bills and pay their mortgages. School officials only see dollar signs when they consider the taxpayers and they don't seem to care about the financial well-being of anyone but themselves.
Think about what it means to have to pay property tax. Essentially, it means we can never actually own property. In all but name, the state owns our property and we merely rent it from them. Don't believe me? Try not paying your property taxes and see what happens. The same thing that happens if you stop paying your rent. It's sad we have to pay for the privilege of living on our own land. Where will the money come from to cover the exorbitant tax increases they propose? As a homeowner, it's probably going to come from your household budget. Do you have an extra $30 to $70 dollars a month to pay to keep from bring taxed out of your home?
Taxes are the symbol of coercion over individual choice and the triumph of the school districts' bureaucrats over its residents. Regardless of how much the new levies might cost each person, if you add that amount to our already high property tax bills its just way too much. To save their homes and lifestyles the property owners must get off their backsides, go to the polls and defeat all the levies. This is the only option.
Ramon ContrerasZanesville
