"The Official Portrait of Miss InDiana"

"The Official Portrait of Miss InDiana"
aka "Miss Victory"

Monday, December 10, 2007

Washington Township School Board Protest over proposed 400% property tax increase -- public hearing on Wednesday

Property Tax Rally
.
Editor's comment: Now the Washington Township School Board wants $200 million of your money just a couple days after the library opens. The frivilous spending of your tax dollars rests in the hands of a small group. Will they listen to you on Wednesday? Probably not, but like the CCC protests, we can create effective memories in the form of media footage for May elections. That's when we throw the bums out of office...just like the taxpayers did to Bart Peterson.

Call Penny Bigelow of Citizens For Education at 317-876-0707, if you want to run for Washington Township School Board. The tax advocacy activists will help your campaign and help you get elected. School board is a paid position and requires attending 1 - 2 meetings a month.

x
Property Tax Rally
Wednesday Dec. 12th, 7:00PM
Dean Evans Community & Education Center,
8550 Woodfield Crossing Blvd, Indianapolis

Washington Township School Board is going to vote on spending $200 million and thus raise school property taxes 400%. That is correct. They want to raise the school portion of property taxes by 400%.
.
Since schools are half of our property taxes, Washington Township residents will see their property tax bills double!!!

The educrats also want to abandon the Harcourt School. An abandoned school will cause neighborhood property values to go down by 50%. What a mess for neighbors: Double the property taxes and half the resale value. Children, can you spell "foreclosure"?

Bring signs that say:
Save Harcourt
Vote No for $200 Million

7 comments:

Ed Angleton said...

Don't these idiots realize that 2008 is an election year? Or maybe they do and want to continue "sticking" it to the taxpayers right up until they get voted out.

Ed Angleton said...

Don't these idiots realize that 2008 is an election year? Or maybe they do and want to continue "sticking" it to the taxpayers right up until they get voted out.

Anonymous said...

It's in only five months for them, I believe...Don't we vote for school boards in the May primaries?

M Theory said...

Yep, for now the school board elections are in May. However, the Governor's reform commission is recommending that we take Washington Township School Board member Greg Wright's smart suggestion to move school board elections to the general election in November, where it will get more attention.

Runaway school spending is about to stop in Indiana. The educrats seem plenty irritated by it.

Be prepared, they won't go down with a fierce fight either. Look for plenty of opposition from school administrators and the ISTA.

Anonymous said...

Thank goodness the people with less time on their hands vote, too, and will ignore most of your nonsense.

Anonymous said...

"Anonymous said...
Thank goodness the people with less time on their hands vote, too, and will ignore most of your nonsense.

December 11, 2007 2:09 PM"

I own my business.

I have raised my family.

I now have SOME time to defend my fellow man against jerks, like you!

I could buy and, sell you...But, I will never be a socialist prostitute, like you.

Anonymous said...

And now, the Paul Harvey "Rest of the Story".....

Are you people REALLY this naive? Are you really THIS shallow?
Are you REALLY THIS short-sighted?

Do you even have a SEMBLANCE of a clue when it comes to the method the state distributes school appropriations?

Obviously NOT. Because if you did then you would know exactly why the MSDWT School Board has been faced with the tough decision of closing an elementary school.

Here, let me "school" you (at absolutely NO cost to you btw) on how the state distributes school appropriations:

It's ALL based on one thing- growth. If your school district has non-growing enrollments, your community schools will get LESS money to run them. Period. Do you know the last year Washington Township experienced any sort of meaningful growth? 2 years ago? 5? 10? 15? Hardly. Try over 20 years ago. Since then, it's up or down a couple percent each year.

Now take a wild guess on what the expenses have done in maintaing and running a top notch school district (which is arguably the #1 factor in the suburban property values that you espouse to be SO concerned about when it comes to closing Harcourt btw)? If you guessed the expenses (even without factoring in teacher and administrator salaries) have sky-rocketed, you'd be right. Big surprise. Along with this, you can combine a mature tax base and a scarcity of undeveloped land and what you get is zero organic tax revenue growth.

Like it or not, residents of Washington Township compete for residential housing demand with residents of Carmel, Zionsville, Westfield and other affluent areas. The primary advantage Washington Township has on it's side is it's superior schools and mostly mature infrastructure, no matter how old it may be. To maintain those property values that you covet, the schools MUST be competitive or even superior to those communities it competes with first and foremost if it is to continue to attract young families (and btw, if your community is NOT attracting and keeping young families, your community is headed in one direction only- down).

To "rhs-c", the business owner who can "buy, and sell you over...": My wife and I each own and run successful businesses. In my experience, the surest and easiest way to spot a spineless jellyfish whose 1040 doesn't match his mouth is to listen for the one that trots out his income first. The truly successful business owners talk about HOW they make their money and invest in other people to help them and therefore help themselves, not HOW MUCH they make.

Besides, if you want to impress me and get your eyes opened to what happens to a community that neglects their schools and a community that doesn't, do what I did- for one week a month over four months, substitute teach in a middle school in IPS, then Lawrence, then in Washington Township and Carmel-Clay. You'll see what's coming down the pike. I'll give you a hint: It's not pretty to the east or the south of Washington Township. Sure, I'd heard that before. But let me tell you something my friend, you won't have ANYWHERE near full comprehension until you do this little project that I did. So do it! I mean, you ARE your own boss I presume? You ARE successful, so that means you can be away for a week a month because you've put competent people in key places right? I'll expect your report back here on this blog by this April. Should be interesting.

In order to maintain it's position as the best school district in the state, and therefore maintain high property values, Washington Township cannot rely on the state for additional funds due to it's zero enrollment growth. The solution is to tighten the belt, even if it means closing some schools to get to a "right size" for the current district enrollment. Or would you rather the township ignore efficiency altogether?

Unfortunately, in order to stay competitive, Washington Township must turn inward for more revenue, and that means a tax hike, as distasteful as that is TO ALL OF US. And btw, I've never not voted for the most conservative candidate in ANY of the dozens of elections I've voted in, including when I lived in Chicago. (In fact, I volunteered for Bush I's campaign in Illinois in both '88 and '92).

If there is ONE tax we conservatives should embrace because it PAYS dividends down the road, it is a tax for education and educational facilities. Why? Because with better educated young adults, they grow up to get good jobs (which increase the tax base organically), stay off the streets and out of crime (which conserves our tax dollars), are more likely to buy property in our Township (maintains or increases home values), more likely to open and run businesses in our Township (again, increasing the tax base), and are more likely to maintain good, strong family units due to not being under economic duress. Strong family units mean well-reared children to attend our well-maintained schools, who then get good high paying jobs that generate more organic growth in the tax base.

As a business owner, SURELY you recognize the importance of reinvesting in your enterprise and the dividends it can pay many times over, don't you?

Or would you rather the schools and the quality of education dwindle to sub-mediocrity and property values plummet? That, afterall, would certainly get you a lower property tax bill. You'd just have to pay through the nose when it comes time to sell the house you paid $200,000 for twenty years ago that is now worth $450,000, but in 15 years when you move to the assisted living facility is only worth $180,000 after 35 years. And you know what the response will be from the elder attorney when you ask him why you can't afford the "newer and nicer wing" at the Top Notch Retirement Village? He'll say "... well, Mr. rhs-c, your house didn't keep up with rising overall property values because the schools were neglected. That, and the fact your business closed 10 years ago because all of your demand moved to Hamilton County due to the schools surging ahead of Washington Township 15 years ago. That's why. Sorry. But HEY! You scored some SWEET property tax breaks back in the day! DUDE! GIMME SOME! (you struggle to raise your arm for the requested high-five)".

The bottom line is you are wasting your time protesting in Washington Township tonight or any night.

Finally, to Mr. Angleton: Actually I would find it incredibly REFRESHING if these "idiots" don't realize there is an election in 2008. At least we could say their integrity hasn't been compromised.

AND NOW YOU KNOW....the rest of the story......


Good Day.