TEACHERS UNION OPPOSES PROPERTY TAX REFORM

The Indiana State Teachers Union and Patrick Bauer must really take us for idiots!

ISTA's basis for rejecting the referendum on school building projects is "Rich communities would approve referendums while poor ones would not, further widening the gap between school districts." Where's the data showing rich communities would approve while poor ones would reject school building projects? Can you name any people in the Fodrea and Lincoln school districts, where Bartholomew's poorest students attend school, who carried the blue petition against the$115 million building project back in 2001? I can't.This is a fallacy, along with the fallacy that fancy buildings improve education and narrow the achievement gap. Where's the data to back up any of these claims by the teachers union?

ISTA's proposal that we keep the same clunky remonstrance process for classrooms and only use referendums on non-classroom projects is a joke. Franklin Central's school administration promised about 10 new "classrooms" would be built with the new posh multi million dollar college calibre football stadium a couple of years ago. School officials said the "classroom addition" under the stadium would alleviate school overcrowding. The so-called classrooms turned out to be luxurious offices for coaches and athletic meeting rooms! Community members are very angry about how they were misled. I promise you, there will be few, if any, referendums, with ISTA's property tax reform proposal, because the administration will find a way to mislead folks into thinking all projects are for "classrooms" and all objections would have to be addressed through the clunky remonstrance.

ISTA intends to fight the state taking over all general operating costs because it "...threatens the stability of public school funding". Instead, it wants the state to "....take over school transportation costs and capital projects because those are growing faster and causing property taxes to rise faster than school operating costs." School administrators want you to believe they have been victim to higher fuel costs and construction costs. Yes, those areas have risen quickly, but those fund expenditures have also risen rapidly partly because schools have been doing a shell game with the money, paying salaries and utilities out of the transportation and capital project funds in order to give themselves all of those pay raises we really couldn't afford.

ISTA President Nat Schnellenberger said "Property taxes are a stable source of revenue. In an economic downtown, both income and sales tax revenue slump leaving the legislature with no easy way to fund education." With almost 237 sheriff's sales taking place in Bartholomew county in 2007, and probably that many or more inLawrence County and elsewhere, and some Bartholomew county realtors estimating foreclosures will double in 2008, can any sane person think property taxes are a stable source of revenue? The teachers union better wise up and take the governor up on his offer.

Speaker of the House, Patrick Bauer's statement that having the state assuming all general fund expenditures means giving up local control. What local control? ISTA gives marching orders here to teachers and they all fall into line. As an example, at teachers' contract time, our teachers fixate on ISTA contract guidelines like its the Bible. Teacher's contract negotiations are another REAL clunky process for the 393 school corporations in Indiana. To see how tremendous the increases have been in all local government & school funds during 2000-2006, go tohttp://www.ista-in.org/uploads/figure%203.pdf

Billie Whitted