April 28, 2019
Commentary on the upcoming May 4, 2019 election in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana.
I received a mailing from the Friends of the Jefferson Parish Public School System stating that the voters should vote in favor of the upcoming tax increase (millage). They call it an "investment in our schools" and say that the "cost is minimal" ($8.23 a month for someone with a $200,000 home) but doesn't say how much they are trying to raise on their mail out.
According to the Secretary of State's website voter portal, I was able to find the actual ballot language (see below) and they are increasing taxes by nearly $30 MILLION a year for 10 years — or nearly $300 MILLION!
They claim that the "newly elected School Board" have created this "strategic plan to move the system from a letter grade C to an A."
Only four out of the nine members are "newly elected" in January 2019. The rest have been serving (aka feeding at the public trough) since 2004 or a couple as recent as 2017, so the majority of the board are NOT "newly elected."
The same school board that has led the school system to a "letter Grade C" now wants another $300 MILLION and claim they will do better — now???
I say, VOTE NO to all new taxes. If the various governmental bureaucracies have been doing a crappy job with OUR MONEY for all this time, why reward them with more of OUR MONEY???
And remember, for all the past and existing millages, as property values increase (as almost all real estate does), the amount they get also goes up accordingly so they have been getting more and more of OUR MONEY for decades and only earned a "letter Grade C" for BILLIONS of dollars that taxpayers have paid in.
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| Friends of Jefferson Parish Public School System mailout |
PW School District No. 1 — 7.90 Mills — SB — 10 Yrs. (Select 1)
Shall School District No. 1 of the Parish of Jefferson, State of Louisiana (the "District"), levy a 7.90 mills tax on all property subject to taxation within the District (an estimated $28,785,000 reasonably expected at this time to be collected from the levy of the tax for an entire year), for a period of ten (10) years, beginning with the year 2019 and ending with the year 2028, for the purpose of giving additional support to the public elementary and secondary schools in the District by providing funds for the payment of salaries and benefits of teachers and other school employees?
Other reading:
https://ballotpedia.org/Jefferson_Parish_Public_School_System,_Louisiana
http://jpschools.org/school-board/board-members/
https://voterportal.sos.la.gov/sampleballot
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