Should School District Administrators and Elected Officials Be Prosecuted for Theft by Deception of the Taxpayers They Serve?
To the Editor:
Every year you hear from the powers to be of the local school districts that they once again have to raise the school tax so as to provide a better education to the school students of the district and yet every year you hear of there not being enough room for more students or to put it another way school over-crowding.

My question is this, every taxpaying parent should be asking “WHERE IS THE SEAT FOR MY CHILD/CHILDREN” because under the constitution of both the United States and the constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania every one is guarantied an education and yet there is not enough room for all.

The school districts levy a tax on all property owners (not renters) to pay for the education of all and yet there is not enough room for each school-age child.

The school districts levy taxes and change the rate at will with out the taxpayer voting on it and yet there is not enough room for each school-age child.

Just think of the problems if all the private, religious home schooled and cyber schooled children would require a seat in the class room, all you would hear would be “WE NEED MORE MONEY BECAUSE OF OVER CROWDING” and in fact you the taxpayer have all ready paid for that seat over and over again.

Where has the money gone, more athletic fields instead of classrooms?

More before and after school activities instead of school day education?

Administration staff and teacher pay and benefits? What about the educational benefits for the children as well as the adults that require it?

Where is the money?

Where is it going and why?

Who is responsible for this misuse of tax dollars?

What are you the taxpayer going to do about it?

What happen to Act 72 from 2004? School districts that opt into Act 72 would have their operations affected by two major provisions in the law. The first is the requirement for eligible districts to adopt their preliminary budgets much earlier than they do now and the second is the back-end referendum - the provision of law that requires participating districts to put certain tax increases before the voters for approval, Reducing property taxes through Act 72: The homestead/farmstead exclusion http://www.psba.org/issues-research/act72index.asp 

Every public school district not only in Pennsylvania, but also in every state that receives both state and federal funds for education. On top of that, the school district gets to levy a tax.

As a taxpayer, we should have the right to vote on the school budget as well any capital improvements.

Write your state representative and ask him or her to pass legislation to mandate school districts and school boards put their budgets on the ballot so as we the taxpayer can vote to approve or disapprove it.

-- William H. LeMon, Sr., Quarryville

POSTED 070207_0830 ET