Tx Republican Legislators about to screw us on property tax again.

February 16, 2019, 01:55 PM

Maybe you need to run for office on that platform?

quote:
Originally posted by chellim1:
quote:
In many of those areas the local school district is the biggest employer in the county. And a lot of those districts became addicted to the extra money they received due to appraisal creep. Plus, they have ZERO incentive to control costs. From generous salaries for an army of 'administrators' to pensions to new facilities that are lavish villas compared to where I went to school.

Yep.

'Public' schools are socialist schools. Many people don't want to hear that. They wonder why our children are so open to the idea of socialism. It's inevitable as even freedom loving parents allow their children to be indoctrinated in a socialist setting.

My solution: Disband the school districts. Eliminate the school taxes. Sell the buildings to private operators, creating thousands and thousands of private schools which will have to compete to attract students.

'Public' education only goes back to around 1900. Prior to that, we had private education. The buildings weren't fancy, often one-room schoolhouses, but they taught kids the basics.

The expense of 'public' education is enormous. People with young kids tend to think of it as 'free'... but if they are homeowners they finance that education for 50 years or more.
When you look at it that way, as 50 year financing, you quickly realize that you could send your kid to the best private schools for less money than you are spending on a public school.

Full disclosure:
My parents sent me to private, Catholic schools: grade school, high school, and University. I did the same for my children. I was also elected twice to serve on the local public school district board of education. I've seen education up close in both private and public settings.

February 16, 2019, 04:37 PM

Herknav

quote:
Originally posted by BBMW:
... but if they are homeowners they finance that education for 50 years or more.
When you look at it that way, as 50 year financing, you quickly realize that you could send your kid to the best private schools for less money than you are spending on a public school.

Not to detract from your point, but if a landlord has an iota or business sense, his renters pay the property tax (albeit indirectly).

The big question, in my mind, with your suggestion is how do we determine which schools HAVE to take the kids no schools want?

February 17, 2019, 11:54 AM

BBMW

Herk,

Point of order. You're really quoting chellim1's post, not mine.

quote:
Originally posted by Herknav:
quote:
Originally posted by BBMW:
... but if they are homeowners they finance that education for 50 years or more.
When you look at it that way, as 50 year financing, you quickly realize that you could send your kid to the best private schools for less money than you are spending on a public school.

Not to detract from your point, but if a landlord has an iota or business sense, his renters pay the property tax (albeit indirectly).

The big question, in my mind, with your suggestion is how do we determine which schools HAVE to take the kids no schools want?

February 17, 2019, 12:02 PM

chellim1

quote:
Not to detract from your point, but if a landlord has an iota or business sense, his renters pay the property tax (albeit indirectly).

The big question, in my mind, with your suggestion is how do we determine which schools HAVE to take the kids no schools want?

Yes, renters pay the property tax (albeit indirectly). Landlords have to make a profit to stay in business. Property tax is an expense, like any other expense, all of which must be factored in when a buyer purchases a rental property and when he sets his rental rates.
The problem is, that since it's indirect (renters don't get a separate bill for the tax) they tend to not take that into account when they vote for higher taxes.

As to your question: "how do we determine which schools HAVE to take the kids no schools want?"

My answer is that WE don't force anyone to do anything. It should be up to parents to determine what is in the best interest of their children. Yes, some children are more difficult than others. My own brother was once expelled from a private school. My parents disagreed with the decision, but they found another school for my brother.

There is no such thing as a child no one wants. If there was, that child belongs in prison not in school. But there are and always will be schools for "special needs" and "problem children". Sometimes they can be "mainstreamed" and sometimes they can't be.

"Some things are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and our ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased, debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible."
-- Justice Janice Rogers Brown

"The United States government is the largest criminal enterprise on earth."
-rduckwor