Wolfs new tax proposal (Bethlehem, Liberty: sales, 2015, how much)

[Blueinterceptor]

Anybody up on this? How will it affect property taxes and income and sales taxes? I saw an article but did not see a breakdown for southern lehigh sd.

[mrknowitall526]

There won't be a breakdown for each district until/unless it is approved.

Income and sales tax would increase, but property taxes would decrease by $1,000 for the "average" homeowner.

I think it's a much better way of funding for schools. As a school employee, I can't even begin to explain how dire things really are in the schools, and any change to the funding formula is a welcome one.

What's more interesting are the proposals to change the way charter schools are paid for, which will also ease up the budgets for schools.

[toobusytoday]

I agree with you mrknowitall. The Morning Call had a breakdown per school district in a recent paper but it's not available on-line, or at least I couldn't find it and we've already recycled it. It listed each district and the percent increase to the schools. Southern Lehigh had the lowest percent increase of any of the dozen listed districts.

[blazerj]

Originally Posted by mrknowitall526

There won't be a breakdown for each district until/unless it is approved.

Income and sales tax would increase, but property taxes would decrease by $1,000 for the "average" homeowner.

I think it's a much better way of funding for schools. As a school employee, I can't even begin to explain how dire things really are in the schools, and any change to the funding formula is a welcome one.

What's more interesting are the proposals to change the way charter schools are paid for, which will also ease up the budgets for schools.

I disagree completely. The schools already get the the local EIT, which doesn't exist in many states.

How much does PA spend per student and how does that compare to the quality of schools?

I think throwing money at a problem doesn't help, especially in Education. It's like putting a band-aid on a bullet wound. They system is completely broken (not performance based, too much reliance on standardized testing, tenure, unions, bad parents, middle class avoiding bad school districts) and increasing the sales tax and income tax would only encourage people to move and buy stuff online/ in Delaware, where there is no sales tax. I already get as much gas as I can in NJ, because of the high gas tax.

[mrknowitall526]

Originally Posted by blazerj

I disagree completely. The schools already get the the local EIT, which doesn't exist in many states.

How much does PA spend per student and how does that compare to the quality of schools?

I think throwing money at a problem doesn't help, especially in Education. It's like putting a band-aid on a bullet wound. They system is completely broken (not performance based, too much reliance on standardized testing, tenure, unions, bad parents, middle class avoiding bad school districts) and increasing the sales tax and income tax would only encourage people to move and buy stuff online/ in Delaware, where there is no sales tax. I already get as much gas as I can in NJ, because of the high gas tax.

So, you enjoy that your children are in classes of 30+? That is way too many in once class to teach effectively.

[blazerj]

Originally Posted by mrknowitall526

So, you enjoy that your children are in classes of 30+? That is way too many in once class to teach effectively.

I think you are missing the point. It's easy to claim that PA Schools need more money. Everybody and every organization could use more money (hence why millionaire athletes will switch teams for $1 million).

I'd like to see some data that shows PA funding as compared to other states and look at our average teacher salary (and other operating expenses) compared to other states. The data I have seen is murky and always has some angle the author is trying to push.

By the way, I picked a random good school (SL Middle School) and their student teacher ratio is 12.9 students per teacher. Then, I choose Liberty High (which by C-D accounts is not a good school) and their ratio is 18 students per teacher.

Southern Lehigh Middle School in Center Valley PA - SchoolDigger.com
Liberty High School in Bethlehem PA - SchoolDigger.com

Also, why does more money = better results. If you simply give every teacher a 5% raise, would you expect the quality of education to suddenly rise?

EDIT:

PA is #11 in educational spending per student
http://www.governing.com/gov-data/ed...upil-data.html

PA spends basically the same per student as Delaware and Maryland (our fellow Mid-Atlantic states), more than OH, VA, WVA (other neighbors) and less than NY & NJ.
http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/dat...y-in-education

[pman]

does that include local share? I think the state share is low

[toobusytoday]

I grew up in Delaware and attended schools there, as did my husband. My children's education in three different counties in PA is much better than what I had. Granted, my Delaware schools may have improved over the years, and I have no way of knowing that. What I do know is that my kids all said that they felt very prepared for college, more so then their peers who were coming from HS's all over the country. So, yes, I think we've been getting our money's worth from our schools.

[mrknowitall526]

Simply dividing total students by number of staff does NOT show an accurate student:teacher ratio. There are many teachers (particularly with students who have special needs) who have very small class sizes, about less than 10. Also, where co-teaching is occurring (reg ed and special ed teacher in the same room), this number is really irrelevant.

I'm always amazed by the opinions of those who have no idea what goes on inside a classroom. I know a math teacher who has class sizes of 27, 30, 31, 23, 25, and 27. And those are pretty typical numbers as of late.

If you think teachers' salaries are so great, I invite you to spend even 1 period in a school teaching any subject, then see if you feel differently.

[NJBoy3]

Really like to know how this is playing out. I love PA and would love to live there but the taxes scare me. Sounds much like NJ. Throwing more of my money at the problem is the problem..