Vote No: New tax won't fix failing education system
In an earlier letter to the editor that appeared online and in the AnnArbor.com Sunday print edition, we argued that now is not the time for a $30 million tax increase on the citizens of Washtenaw County. We said then that there were many reasons to oppose this millage increase, and that we would be writing again to outline those other reasons.
Since then, we have seen the governor remove about $500 of state funding per student in a targeted strike on the Ann Arbor schools’ budget. What this amounts to, of course, is a transparently obvious attempt to blackmail the voters in this area to approve the millage increase.
If the governor’s line-item veto is allowed to stand, then the compromises that were negotiated 15 years ago to govern our K-12 educational funding will be out the window, and the state will become party to an action that punishes those school systems that willingly spent more on education than the state-wide average. Strange tactics, indeed, from a governor who claims to believe that improving education is the key to transforming the state’s future.
The size of this millage is not the only concern, though; here are two more. 

To begin, there is the question of transparency. Voters, ideally, should be able to understand how their hard earned taxes are being spent.
In Washtenaw County, though, the situation is murky because the Washtenaw Intermediate School District [WISD] funds so many different kinds of activities. As its charter specifies, it provides special education services for students in the district. But then in addition, it performs educational services such as accounting and human resources for some of the schools in its district. And, if we pass this millage, it will also be providing direct funding to schools within its jurisdiction.
Three different kinds of missions, and three different revenue streams all muddied up in one set of books. Voters will never be able to understand where their money is going. 

To cite just one obvious example, WISD consolidation of “back office” operations is obviously good if it reduces costs, but if that is true, then why hasn’t every school system within WISD signed up to take advantage of this service? Why hasn’t the Ann Arbor School District, the largest within WISD, availed itself of these services?
And where are the savings? We have looked at every ballot proposal on every township, village, and city ballot for the last 7 years and cannot find a single instance in which voters have been asked to approve a millage reduction as a consequence of WISD generated savings.

 Then there is the question of whether this is the right kind of tax. Property tax revenues follow property values, and the declining real estate values that Washtenaw County is now experiencing suggest that the revenues raised by this new tax will decline over the next few years.
Unfortunately, MEA-driven funding needs for our schools will increase, not decline.
In some Washtenaw County school districts, salary-schedule increases exceed 2 percent per year, step-chart increases for teachers in the early years of their career exceed 5 percent per year, and teachers who earn an advanced degree will see salary increases of as much as 15 percent.
All of these may be good from a policy standpoint, but all of them together guarantee that the funding needed to support faculty salaries will increase. Couple this with MEA intransigence on fringe benefits—principally health care costs—and the upward pressure on school budgets will become intolerable.
Does it make sense to try to support an ever-increasing funding need with a flat-to-declining revenue source? Clearly not.

Throwing more revenue at a system that is as fundamentally broken as this one is just asking for trouble, especially since there is no long term plan to bring future MEA demands in line with our schools’ ability to pay. We need to develop a method to synchronize revenue streams with cost streams. We do not need to put a temporary patch on an ever-expanding balloon that will inevitably blow up in our faces at some point in the future.


Wyckham Seelig
 Vice-Chairman Washtenaw County Republican Party
Comments
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proudparent
Thu, Oct 29, 2009 : 10:29 a.m.
For the people who are saying voters that are voting "no" must be the ones without kids, or have kids in private schools in Ann Arbor. Your wrong, I do live in Ann Arbor and i do have kids. I will be voting "no" on November 3rd. I also work for A2 public schools. I love the job i do, and i love the kids. I pay almost 700.00 a month for health care benefits and only make 22,000.00 a year. What people dont understand about the the contracts we are under, you have to have a certain amount of hours worked in a day to recieve full paid benefits. Which is 7 hours or more, and half of the workers only work 6 and a half a day. (so for all of you that think we a2 school workers get "full paid health benefits", your wrong about that.) I just cant afford my taxes to rise anymore, my union dues to go up, and not recieve a pay raise. My question to the people who say their childs education is soooo important. What are you doing to help? You think giving your money is the only way your child will excel and succeed? Are you not at home with them after school, helping with homework, and projects? The ole, " it takes a millage to educate a child" slogan! Why are you allowing the government to scare you into thinking your not smart enough to teach your own children the basic fundementals of learning? I dont believe raising my taxes, is going to make my child any smarter! I have watched and been in some schools with teachers and staff, as well as principals, that dont care about the kids, and only looking to get a check. Its sad. Sometimes when i have problems with students, i feel no support from principals and parents when trying to come up with solutions. I have been told by supervisors that, "i get to involved and should have been a social worker instead", and problems never get resolved. I was shocked to say the least, because i thought everyone cared as much as i did. I do care about the kids future. I dont have a problem buying my childrens book, pens, papers, cost of supplies when projects are needed, sports when my kids want to play. ect. But i dont feel like this millage is the one to pass. I dont want to see my money pay another supervisor over 100,000 a year. I want to see reform! Stop the irresponsible spending! Stop paying people to come and look at our finances. Take care of them yourself Mr. Roberts! Thats what we pay you and your staff for. Get your priorities straight! My boss can tell me how to do my job, but cant even accuire the certification to do what i do. How is that? How can they pay someone over 80,000 a year and he cant even do the job that i do or get the right certification because of health reasons. Why is he even working here? IRRESPONSIBLE! Im tired of people using my kids for money. I can pay for the essentials for school, even books and extra cirricular activities, but ask me to pay more taxes and tell me its for my kids? Just give me the money then, and let me decide what happens with it! VOTE NO
Janelle Baranowski
Thu, Oct 29, 2009 : 9:53 a.m.
Mr. Seelig makes some important points. - The Mackinac Center for Public Policy keeps a list of districts that provide their financials to the public. You can access it at http://www.mackinac.org/article.aspx?ID=9329 - At first glance, I didn't see any Washtenaw County schools listed. When asking someone for money, you're also asking for their trust. I would definitely consider voting Yes for the millage if I could see the finances. It would be much easier to determine if all cost-cutting measures have been implemented, and therefore more revenue is needed. As it stands, I can't trust that all alternatives to the tax hike have been taken. - www.some-other-viewpoint.blogspot.com
Rick Witten
Thu, Oct 29, 2009 : 9:47 a.m.
Mr. Seelig, You raise significant and important points in your article. The bottom line for me, however, is in your final sentence regarding a "temporary patch." Yes, there may be systemic problems in both the revenue and expense categories that call for a fundamental restructuring of our tax and education systems. Can you assure me that a solution will be implemented over the coming 12 months? Of course not. The first grader in my household needs a quality education now. Today. To me, that calls for a temporary patch until such time that the politicians can make the tough choices those fundamental changes require. The Republican strategy, locally and nationally, seems to be Starve the Beast. Which means, bankrupt our government so that fundamental changes are forced upon us. That strategy might work, but it would be very painful. It is not fair to my daughter or her peers to pay such a price for past errors in leadership. Let's find a way to fix the system while managing to provide high quality education to our children. That's my bottom line. Regards, Rick Witten