Hurley's Gold

School Taxing and ISD begging

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  • busykngt

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    Jun 14, 2011
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    Frustrated & irritated.
    Anybody else have a POV on this?

    I pay property taxes...A LOT of property taxes!
    The bulk of which, go to the ISD.

    I first noticed this several years ago when I received an unsolicited email from the school my oldest niece’s children go to (in California, no less!). In short it was a “fund raising” letter made personalized by invoking the name & a photograph of her kid. It continued in later years as her other two kids reached that certain school level (junior high). Guess I’m a bad great-Uncle... I didn’t donate! Sorry, just didn’t feel the need to support the California school system!

    Now MY grandkid (a County over - in Denton county), has sent basically the same kind of ‘fund raising’ email. The boy is in First Grade! Thus, the first sentence of this post.

    Seems the common thread from these emails is, they’re after money to support extra-school activities. I have no idea what that means for a first-grader(!)... maybe ‘field trips’(?)... who knows?

    In addition to McKinney passing a bond fund to build, what some are now saying is the most expensive high school football stadium in the country (not just Texas) - about $82-85M, once original land acquisition costs and related city infrastructure costs are included (road & utility construction in the immediate area to support the stadium). The larger bond fund the stadium was part of, also included money to buy new high school band uniforms. Imagine paying on clothes for thirty years!

    The ISD school board (& voters) have lost their minds! I guess this new email fund raising scheme just replaces the old candy bar or bake sale stuff we had when I was growing up. But sorry, I’m not buying it!

    *** Rant over *** (ok, I’m chilled out now)
     

    AustinN4

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    Nov 27, 2013
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    It isn't just McKinney, it (crazy school bonds) is rampant all over the country. Why voters keep approving them is beyond me. Maybe because "it's for the children"?
    I have voted against every bond issue, not just schools, in Austin and Travis County for the last 25 years to no avail.
     

    dsgrey

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    Oct 25, 2015
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    Denton County
    It's been this way for a long time. Fund raisers selling something for $20 and the school gets 50 cents. I've always said just have a program to donate cash since it would be less expensive. Huge bonds for stadiums but they complain teachers don't have basic supplies in their rooms. They know the "for the children" message tugs at the heart. Glad my kids are grown but I'm sure I'll be handing out cash for grandchildren's schools before long.
     

    busykngt

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    Guilt and tugging at your heart strings is the ‘modus operandi’ of these types of fund raisers. So far, I’ve resisted the call, even from the grandchild (go ahead, call me a hard a$$). I’m pretty generous with them on their birthdays and at Christmas. And I certainly don’t mind do things for them directly. But this idea of giving even more money to the ISD, just doesn’t sit well with me (especially in light of ISD board members not proving they know how to manage and spend money properly).

    Now it may be just a coincidence, but I’ve got lots of nieces who all have children of their own. And this includes my daughter-in-law, so far the only ones who have sent me these “begging letters” are from the liberal Democrat side of the family. Coincidence??
     

    Charlie

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    'Top of the hill, Kerr County!
    Having spent many years in education, I can tell you that part of the money issue is with top end administrators. The discrepancy in salaries between the actual teachers and the superintendent/assistant superintendents is a tremendous amount. It's not unusual for the salary of a 30+ year teacher to be only 20 or 25% of the salary of the superintendent (not including the supt. supplied vehicle, gas allowance, travel allowance, insurance, etc., etc. that is picked up by the district).
     

    oldguy

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    Having spent many years in education, I can tell you that part of the money issue is with top end administrators. The discrepancy in salaries between the actual teachers and the superintendent/assistant superintendents is a tremendous amount. It's not unusual for the salary of a 30+ year teacher to be only 20 or 25% of the salary of the superintendent (not including the supt. supplied vehicle, gas allowance, travel allowance, insurance, etc., etc. that is picked up by the district).

    You nailed it the waste is at the top, nepotism is another big issue in smaller schools,
    public schools in my opinion have harmed our society due to the total liberal teaching, and it continues into our universities.
    While we have some good teachers the system is corrupt.
     

    FireInTheWire

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    Yeah man... It's a joke. Fund "our" system. The majority of my taxes goes to my county ISD. What pisses me off is that my kids are home schooled.

    Had a friend that lived in Anna. Bought a nice 2-story home down from the school. She told me over conversation that she pays $10,000 are year in taxes. I damn near fell down.
     

    busykngt

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    I had little to begin with, but what “faith” I had in the voting public evaporated with that last school bond election. The decision to build that expensive stadium in McKinney was determined by aprox 10% of the eligible voters (~10K+/- votes cast) and it passed by about 2500 votes.

    I lay a lot of the fault at the feet of the voters! They’re the ones electing the Board of Education. And it’s those idiots who are agreeing to pay these supervisors and administrators such outrageous salaries (AND benefits/perks). There is no accountability - the voters are just completely apathetic toward the whole situation. It’s just ridiculous and meanwhile our property taxes just keep going up and up, to pay for it all. Unbelievable.
     

    Ole Cowboy

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    About a year ago we passed a $100 MILLION school bond, now they are talking about another one.

    I raised this issue with a school board member: A $100M bond would send every grad Sr to any college in the US for years to come. Then he babbled something about it was for IT mostly. Then I told him I had spent 25 years in the IT business and a $100M would give every single student in school the most expensive laptop or desktop money will buy along with a laser color printer every years for years to come.

    You don't have a kid in school you don't know what you are talking about...
     

    oldag

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    I will vote for bonds funding new school buildings if they are needed.

    Fancy athletic facilities? I will lead a campaign to vote those down.

    Many 4A and 5A districts have loaded up on administrators, wasting payroll dollars.

    Too few people vote in the bond issue elections. And too few people care about the school board candidates.
     

    Darkpriest667

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    Jan 13, 2017
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    Educator here... I'll basically echo everything being said.. I vote against bonds as well, they are almost always to build fcking stadiums that we don't need. I love Football as much as the next guy but I'm tired of seeing districts build stadiums that aren't necessary. I'm very likely getting AWS and MCSE certified this year and getting the hell out of education. I just can't stand it anymore. Pointless training, administrators that make 8 times what I do that do almost nothing.. Assistant principals that don't enforce the rules and discipline to the kids..

    Parents that think they know more about how to educate a child than I do.. I'm over it. A parent actually called my boss and complained that I gave their kid a zero and that kid believed it was because I hated him. I actually like the kid, but shit the assignment was due for 14 days before I put a 0 in.
     

    busykngt

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    Darkpriest, I have known many “ex-teachers” in my life. Both women and men. While they all seemed to start off pretty enthusiastically (as teachers), it didn’t take but a few short years before they’d had enough. Typically at the five to seven year mark, they were ‘burnt out’ and fed up with the bureaucracy and the low pay. After a few years working in the “regular world”, I don’t know of any of them who regretted their decision.
     

    stdreb27

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    Lol. Friggen A


    I get phone calls, do you want to donate to your alma mater?

    I tell them, I involuntarily donate regularly.

    Huh

    Oh yes.

    Those little work study girls get a 10 minute economic lesson.
     

    deemus

    my mama says I'm special
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    Budgets for many schools aren't enough often.

    I've bought stuff from PTAs and booster clubs over the years. The method you mentioned is new to me.

    I've had the urge to lend a hand rarely.
     

    Army 1911

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    My take on school taxes is that Texas uses the " robbing hoodlum" plan to steal my money and fritter it away somewhere I DON'T live.

    This amounts to taxation without representation. Was't that what led to a rebellion some time ago?

    We should be able to vote in the school district where our school taxes go. For bonds AND BOARD members.
     
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