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Why are the taxes here so high? Because of the school taxes. Why are the school taxes here so high? In my opinion, four main reasons:
1. the power of the teachers' unions
2. the unwillingness of school districts to fight the unions on contract issues (gawdforbid the teachers go on strike)
3. certain NY State mandated but not state-funded programs (this is one of the reasons districts always trot out for the yearly increases; whether it is that big a percentage is another question)
4. the current system in which each school district is a separate taxing entity, and negotiates its own contract with the teachers' union, rather than having a single county-wide school district.
Other, more minor reasons:
5. The cost of health insurance for teachers and administrators is another reason that gets trumpeted by the districts for big increases. Well yes, we taxpayers are not surprised that the cost of the district's policy jumps every year -- SO DO OURS. And admittedly, health insurance as a whole (for private individuals and businesses) is generally higher in NY, NJ, CT etc than in many other states. But that's an across-the-board effect, it doesn't target school districts in particular. Everybody in the Northeast gets hit with it.
6. Some districts (Roslyn comes immediate to mind, and of course there are others) have or have had corruption within. The state only audits what, 2% of its school districts per year, on average? Yes I know each district has a so-called independent auditor. Well, so did Roslyn, supposedly.
I'd be curious to see what portion of the $1650/yr Colorado tax bill goes for school taxes, and also what kind of system they have in place for it. Is it like ours, with separate independent districts? Or is it central, handled on a wider basis, maybe per-county? How strong are the teachers' unions out there, compared to ours? Without knowing the details it is hard to compare the two areas....
Sorry 4stan
I hate to tell ya this but teachers aint rich.
Im married to one...she makes better money waiting tables.
Dont get me wrong theyre are many overpaid tenured teachers sucking us dry,but the real money gathers at the top.
Administrators have been running away with the loot for years.(literally...see Roslyn/WmFloyd)
200k plus a year is total BS!
I think Levy has a good idea about collective purchasing however as long as we want these little boutique districts which behave like little private schools,we will continue to screw ourselves.Keep in mind much of our Real assets are tied to school quality.My house would be 100k less in Mastic and 60k more in Three Village.
It's a double edged sword.
A real killer in my District is the Buses that run around 80% empty.
Laidlaw had no competitive bid again this year........Badabing!!
Check your facts, clamboy, before bashing the cops. Nassau County requires two years of college (32 credits) for entry; most new cops have bachelor's degrees. Many in the force have master's degrees. College is a defacto requirement for promotion.
And I'll bet you don't have to wear body armor to work every day.
Check your facts, clamboy, before bashing the cops. Nassau County requires two years of college (32 credits) for entry; most new cops have bachelor's degrees. Many in the force have master's degrees. College is a defacto requirement for promotion.
And I'll bet you don't have to wear body armor to work every day.
Ooooooops, looks like I struck a nerve.
Ill wear a bunny suit with a bullseye in downtown Hempstead for that kind of money.
Does anyone believe NCPD/SCPD are paid fairly based on the NYPD payscale?
Unfortunately SCPD is straight up GED country. As one of the highest paid PD's in country, maybe they should take a page from the NCPD playbook regarding college requirements.
(Good think were dumbing down the requirements in Suffolk,its not like were paying top dollar or anything)
Suffolk County Police Dept (http://www.co.suffolk.ny.us/police/recruitment.htm - broken link)
LI crime is on the rise....Bloods, Crips, MS13
I'm confident we could fill all open PD positions on LI for 40% less.
Or heres a more tragic possibility....40% more feet on the street.
Clamboy, I'm aware that the bloated contracts aren't just because of salaries; there are lots of other things that get tossed into that mix.
For example, although I don't know what the current situation is, especially per district, I do know that as recently as four years ago there were quite a few teachers union/district contracts that provided health insurance to teachers and fulltime district employees at either no cost or for some ridiculously low monthly premium like $50 or $100 per month.
Then you have, as I'm sure you know, certain teachers who get paid for all kinds of extracurricular programs that they rarely even show up at (there was one egregious offender in my district for years, and because he had tenure there was nothing anyone could do about his little games; again, one of those 100K-per-year guys when all was added up, and he was in the MUSIC department for gawd's sake).
Clamboy, I'm aware that the bloated contracts aren't just because of salaries; there are lots of other things that get tossed into that mix.
For example, although I don't know what the current situation is, especially per district, I do know that as recently as four years ago there were quite a few teachers union/district contracts that provided health insurance to teachers and fulltime district employees at either no cost or for some ridiculously low monthly premium like $50 or $100 per month.
Then you have, as I'm sure you know, certain teachers who get paid for all kinds of extracurricular programs that they rarely even show up at (there was one egregious offender in my district for years, and because he had tenure there was nothing anyone could do about his little games; again, one of those 100K-per-year guys when all was added up, and he was in the MUSIC department for gawd's sake).
Bullseye on a bunny suit ... funny. But seriously, though, how many times have you been shot at while you were working? It's not fun. And when that car full of teenagers gets rapped around a drunk driver and you have to pull out the young bodies ... and then go tell their parents that they've gone to God. How much would we have to pay you to do that?
By the way, crime is rising everywhere. Long Island (Nassau and Suffolk Counties) remains the safest MSA of its size in the country.
Bullseye on a bunny suit ... funny. But seriously, though, how many times have you been shot at while you were working? It's not fun. And when that car full of teenagers gets rapped around a drunk driver and you have to pull out the young bodies ... and then go tell their parents that they've gone to God. How much would we have to pay you to do that?
By the way, crime is rising everywhere. Long Island (Nassau and Suffolk Counties) remains the safest MSA of its size in the country.
We all have choices.
I just think NYC cops face far worse for far less.
We could trim the fat.
Im sorry but you wont convince me otherwise.
In all seriousness..thank you for what you do.
It the economics of it that really concern me.
I just think NYC cops face far worse for far less.
We could trim the fat.
Im sorry but you wont convince me otherwise.
In all seriousness..thank you for what you do.
It the economics of it that really concern me.
We're being forced from our homes.
C
Excellent post... this is the major concern of most long island residents today. Anybody thinking of moving here needs to understand the tax structure and what exactly we are paying for.
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Location: home...finally, home .
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This is kind of an old thread to bring up now , I have a voice . I hope that you are not looking for trouble here. Otherwise , I'll close this thread.
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