Too bad legislators are too afraid of the teachers’ union to just cut spending. No educational programs would be hurt with a 10% reduction in spending, followed by a five year freeze.
But, cowardly legislators would rather make the union happy than help the rest of us.

I have said it all along: eliminate property taxes, lower the sales tax, and increase the income tax. While we are on the subject, get rid of the inheritance tax.

-Michael Grant

Has anyone ever stopped and really considered the true reason why property-tax “reform” has never been enacted in Pennsylvania? It’s diehard proponents have always billed it as a tax “elimination”. It’s not. Nearly every proposal that I’ve seen over the years has been nothing but a tax shift. Act 1, the legislature’s most recent swing at “reform”, is a loophole-ridden joke that does nothing to reign in spiraling education costs in certain areas and cushy retirement packages enacted by school boards that are largely unaccountable to families living in their districts. Last spring, an overwhelming majority of the Commonwealth’s 501 school districts booted this approach back to Harrisburg for further “fine-tuning”, shall we say. In my opinion, it seems as if we’re attacking the remedy without properly diagnosing the ailment. Many are claiming that property taxes are an “inadequate” source of funding schools when hardly anyone stops to ask why property taxes in some areas have increased so drastically. A tax-shifting solution that penalizes every taxpayer across the state for the sheer incompetence and poor governance of some school boards in specific areas is the absolute wrong road to go down. The reality is that a fair number of school boards are run very well, but some in Harrisburg would like Pennsylvanians state-wide to pay for the misdeeds of districts in their areas, primarily because they don’t have the, well, “guts” to hold their feet to the fire. Why in the world should taxpayers statewide accept an almost-full point jump in the state income tax (as Rep. Rohrer proposes) with the promise that we “might” see total elimination of property taxes if certain “conditions” are met. Some others suggest that homeowners will see “substantial” relief if enough of our citizens plow into casinos across the Commonwealth to “chance their luck” (read: toss their earnings down the drain). In fact, one could argue that, in going that route, we’re actually financing our property-tax reductions ourselves! Now that’s “effective governance”, no? The reality is this: as much as I hate to say it, Rendell is right. Property taxes will always be “part of the mix” when it comes to financing schools, primarily because their is no honest way of completely eliminating them without certain groups losing. My suggestion? Attack the root causes of the problem, namely spending increases and retirement obligations at the district level. Close the loopholes in Act 1 that allow school boards to escape accountability. Put any tax increase that goes beyond inflation to a referendum – force districts to make their budgetary case annually before the voters. At the state level, continue and consider expansion of the rebate program that helps senior citizens that are truly at risk due to property tax bills. Consider expanding homestead exemptions. Plow ALL gaming revenue into property tax relief, not just some. Some will call these approaches “Band-Aids”. In reality, they are practical solutions that will yield REAL relief, as opposed to a maze-like tax shift that produces a few winners amongst a healthy number of losers. Once you have contained the true problem (irresponsible school boards), real progress is possible. Will healthy property-tax cuts occur overnight? Of course not. However, over a few years, as districts begin living within their means and exemptions and rebates are gradually increased, owners will see real relief. Low-income seniors will enjoy bills that are next-to-nothing, if they see a tax bill at all. The best part is none of this – repeat: NONE OF THIS – requires a tax increase or tax shift. For Harrisburg, that would be true “reform”.

You will receive my agreement that there needs to be attention to the roots of these problems. With more money flowing to education, are students better off today than they were years ago? Are we throwing money at a system that is not delivering the results we expect? Education funding takes up a significant amount of the state budget, and we seem to place increasing emphasis on the schools to teach our children. Remember, it takes a village to raise a child. Some could argue that the decreasing of community interaction could be hurting our students, and not entirely to blame on the schools.

-Michael Grant