Back when I first started paying property taxes in my adopted hometown in 1974 or so, a neighborhood old-timer told me one time, “A school board will spend as much as you let them.” He cautioned me to look at the details, not to be bound by my natural pro-education instincts as the father of a two-year-old. The old fellow is not around anymore, but I’m confident the East Lansing School Board’s latest proposal beats anything he saw in his time.
Nothing cuts to the most odious aspect of its effort than the quote in the Lansing State Journal on Feb. 23 from board President Rima Addiego. When speaking of the fact that if they have to take an alternate plan to the voters, she said “We’re not talking about $53 million versus $34 million. We’re talking about $53 million versus $19 million.” That’s because our ability to borrow presently is at $53 million, but will decline to $19 million next year because our property values will reflect new, realistically lower levels.
Our income will be less, so while we technically possess “ability to borrow,” we are not credit worthy for that level of a bond or mortgage on all those fancy new buildings. But let’s hurry and do it before they wise up to the truth and don’t let us.
This is the same kind of borrow and spend behavior that has gotten our country, our corporations, and our bankrupt foreclosed citizens in trouble.
There is another agenda in play that I hope will stir you to action if you care about the plight of urban schools. East Lansing’s school board projects fewer in-district students in the future. It is counting on brand-new, fancy fiber optic schools to lure even more school of choice kids, financially pillaging Lansing’s schools. It can’t make this new effort work without a lot more school-of-choice kids.
That two-year-old of mine had to go to the “old” high school, class of ‘90. After going through MSU Honors College, he’s now an assistant professor at Harvard. The next year, the “old” school graduated Larry Page, co-founder of Google. I assure you neither had any problem with adapting to technology or were held back by the facilities.
So please help us. Those property taxes are an inflexible and perpetual component of the rents you and those who come after you pay. Vote no for whichever reason you choose.
Think about the Lansing kids whose single mother can’t afford the gas to drive her kid to East Lansing every day. Do you endorse East Lansing grabbing their education dollars?
Gregg DeLadurantaye, MSU alumnus and East Lansing resident
Support student media!
Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
Discussion
Share and discuss “School bond fiscally irresponsible” on social media.
