School Bond Crossfire
The School Bond Referendum is caught in a crossfire. The opponents of the billion-dollar bond referendum seem to agree on one thing: Defeating it is the best way to send the School Board a message that it is headed in the wrong direction. But they differ on the right direction. (News and Observer; 10-22-06).
Americans for Prosperity supports a smaller bond (of $650 million), which wouldnât require a huge property tax increase. It also supports reforms like building more neighborhood schools, dedicating the hotel/motel tax (which is now used to fund special projects like the Convention Center) to pay for schools, and using Raleighâs share of the lottery money to build schools.
On the other hand, parents who oppose year-round schools, are opposing the bond because, well, it means the School Board will build more of the schools they donât like.
Where does this leave the School Bondâs supporters, who find themselves under attack from two directions? A spokesperson for the group says if there were no conversions to mandatory year-round schools passing the bonds âwould be a slam dunk.â But that may be overoptimistic. Two polls published months ago showed the bonds losing decisively long before year-round schools became an issue. So, it may be votersâ discontent with the school system runs deeper than just opposition to year-round schools. It may be the real problem is taxpayers seeing County and City government spending millions for convention centers and hotels, then saying we must raise taxes to pay for schools. Voters arenât naïve. They may have figured out local governments are spending a lot of money on priorities that are less important than schools.
School Bond Crossfire
The School Bond Referendum is caught in a crossfire. The opponents of the billion-dollar bond referendum seem to agree on one thing: Defeating it is the best way to send the School Board a message that it is headed in the wrong direction. But they differ on the right direction. (News and Observer; 10-22-06).
Americans for Prosperity supports a smaller bond (of $650 million), which wouldnât require a huge property tax increase. It also supports reforms like building more neighborhood schools, dedicating the hotel/motel tax (which is now used to fund special projects like the Convention Center) to pay for schools, and using Raleighâs share of the lottery money to build schools.
On the other hand, parents who oppose year-round schools, are opposing the bond because, well, it means the School Board will build more of the schools they donât like.
Where does this leave the School Bondâs supporters, who find themselves under attack from two directions? A spokesperson for the group says if there were no conversions to mandatory year-round schools passing the bonds âwould be a slam dunk.â But that may be overoptimistic. Two polls published months ago showed the bonds losing decisively long before year-round schools became an issue. So, it may be votersâ discontent with the school system runs deeper than just opposition to year-round schools. It may be the real problem is taxpayers seeing County and City government spending millions for convention centers and hotels, then saying we must raise taxes to pay for schools. Voters arenât naïve. They may have figured out local governments are spending a lot of money on priorities that are less important than schools.