2% is a very reasonable increase. We live in Westchester because we have access to good public schools. Our homes are worth more than in other parts of the country because, given a choice, people would rather live here. I am tired of the constant, negative mantra of "lower my taxes." (emphasis on MY). It is short-sighted.
Chris Wyser-Pratte - 13 years ago
Look, it's really very simple. Budgets put before the voters go up whether enrollment goes up or down. Usually during the fat times, the trustees accede to large increases in pension benefits and health benefits for the teachers, and go out and hire more ancillary administrators. Comes a downturn, they never even think to fire the useless new administrators, never seek to reduce benefits, and thus have no concept of how to cut costs. It's always "we're going to fire teachers, raise the class size and make your children ever less well equipped to go out into the world and earn a living unless you approve our gold-plated budget." God forbid they they might actually use the word "compete." And, of course, if you don't approve the budget, they respond with an even more draconian teacher reduction for the next vote, until they scare people into saying yes. We the taxpayers are fed up with this corrupt, incestuous system for picking our pockets. Liberal Wisconsin, bellweather Indiana and today ultra-liberal Massachusetts have all voted to curb the bargaining rights of public sector unions, because that's where the issue must be tackled, not at budget vote time but at contract negotiation time. Either the school boards of school districts in New York will wake up to this issue and act responsibly to get costs under control, or we'll change the boards and use whatever means are necessary to change the contracts, up to and including bankruptcy.
2% is a very reasonable increase. We live in Westchester because we have access to good public schools. Our homes are worth more than in other parts of the country because, given a choice, people would rather live here. I am tired of the constant, negative mantra of "lower my taxes." (emphasis on MY). It is short-sighted.
Look, it's really very simple. Budgets put before the voters go up whether enrollment goes up or down. Usually during the fat times, the trustees accede to large increases in pension benefits and health benefits for the teachers, and go out and hire more ancillary administrators. Comes a downturn, they never even think to fire the useless new administrators, never seek to reduce benefits, and thus have no concept of how to cut costs. It's always "we're going to fire teachers, raise the class size and make your children ever less well equipped to go out into the world and earn a living unless you approve our gold-plated budget." God forbid they they might actually use the word "compete." And, of course, if you don't approve the budget, they respond with an even more draconian teacher reduction for the next vote, until they scare people into saying yes. We the taxpayers are fed up with this corrupt, incestuous system for picking our pockets. Liberal Wisconsin, bellweather Indiana and today ultra-liberal Massachusetts have all voted to curb the bargaining rights of public sector unions, because that's where the issue must be tackled, not at budget vote time but at contract negotiation time. Either the school boards of school districts in New York will wake up to this issue and act responsibly to get costs under control, or we'll change the boards and use whatever means are necessary to change the contracts, up to and including bankruptcy.