A new way to pay for schools? (Wilkinsburg, Brookville: rent, mortgage)

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by RyanR

Sounds like an education power grab by the State. Once they control all the money for schools, they can dictate what gets done at the local level.

Every local government in PA is a creation of and entirely dependent on the state government and raises money only within the bounds set by state government. If the legislature and the governor can agree on something, they can dictate whatever they want.

[sparrowmint]

Originally Posted by RyanR

Sounds like an education power grab by the State. Once they control all the money for schools, they can dictate what gets done at the local level. I think the Fed Dept of Education and the State should get the heck out of our schools and leave it more to the local levels.

Yeah, because that's working out ever so well. What a joke.

These silly, disgustingly inefficient, inept, corrupt, segregated little districts have no inherent right to exist. And many of them shouldn't.

Local school taxes should be much lower, and state-level funding should equalize the rest of the funding per student. Charter school funding, if they are to exist, should come entirely from the state.

[Velvet Jones]

Originally Posted by sparrowmint

Yeah, because that's working out ever so well. What a joke.

These silly, disgustingly inefficient, inept, corrupt, segregated little districts have no inherent right to exist. And many of them shouldn't.

Local school taxes should be much lower, and state-level funding should equalize the rest of the funding per student. Charter school funding, if they are to exist, should come entirely from the state.

Yep. Many school boards spend like drunken sailors. They whine and come with their hats in hand every year, but continue to spend like there is no tomorrow. I've seen local school building that are nicer than private colleges or even corporate headquarters. You do not need brick and stone buildings with granite floors.

[Velvet Jones]

Originally Posted by Moby Hick

A sales tax is very regressive. That would put the school funding mostly on the middle class and poor and let the wealthy pay very little (as a percentage of their income).

Yes, but it also shifts the burden to those who use the system the most. Most parents pay only a tiny portion of the tax it takes to educate their children. You have poor families with seven kids that are lucky if they're contributing $1000 a year when it is costing the school district $9000 or more per child.

[Katarina Witt]

Many states have some type of equalization funding formula with state taxes used to backfill the less wealthy districts.

WSJ Article Reveals How Other States Equalize Education Funding: Labor and Employment Law, School Law, Lawyers, Attorneys, Franczek Radelet
*-*The Future of Children -
School-Finance Reform: Inspiration and Progress in Colorado | Center for American Progress

[trackstar13]

Originally Posted by Katiana

Many states have some type of equalization funding formula with state taxes used to backfill the less wealthy districts.

WSJ Article Reveals How Other States Equalize Education Funding: Labor and Employment Law, School Law, Lawyers, Attorneys, Franczek Radelet
*-*The Future of Children -
School-Finance Reform: Inspiration and Progress in Colorado | Center for American Progress

This would be very helpful to many PA school districts such as Wilkinsburg, which has extremely high property/school taxes, but the median home sales price is much lower than the Pittsburgh area average.

Pittsburgh median home sale price = $145,000
Wilkinsburg median home sales price = $52,500

Depending on property tax revenues for school funding is problematic and definitely favors the already wealthy districts because of the high property values. Some areas of PA have seen property prices kept artificially low because the school taxes are so high and buyers realize this when they are looking at properties. For instance, imagine if property values tripled in Wilkinsburg over the next decade, what would the school taxes be? It appears that property prices have been increasing in Wilkinsburg, but there is definitely a limit to where property prices can rise because of the overall cost of ownership when you include school taxes. I agree with what you posted and I like the ideas in the articles you linked. PA should have better schools and more state funding for the less wealthy districts would be a great start.

[Katarina Witt]

It does seem to me if this PA plan is to be revenue neutral, it will simply be "robbing Peter to pay Paul".

[robrobrob]

Originally Posted by trackstar13

I agree completely, however, the main issue I have with the current school taxes in PA are the collection issues. What if people don't pay? What if too many properties are taken up by non-profits? As I mentioned before the issue is very complex and I think we can at least agree that the current system is not working. My school taxes are currently the largest share of my property taxes by a big margin and they continue to rise every year. Many retired residents of PA have to budget the entire year to pay their property taxes and it may be their biggest expense the entire year even with the senior rebate system.

I would imagine that School taxes are more peoples biggest expense.

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by Velvet Jones

Yes, but it also shifts the burden to those who use the system the most. Most parents pay only a tiny portion of the tax it takes to educate their children. You have poor families with seven kids that are lucky if they're contributing $1000 a year when it is costing the school district $9000 or more per child.

If they had $63,000 to pay in taxes, they wouldn't be poor people.

[robrobrob]

School taxes will never be fair. Plenty of wealthy families have property taxes over 20,000 and don't have any kids in school. Plenty of families with several kids in school don't pay anything close to what it costs to educate their kids. Regardless of which tax is used to fund schools, it is clear that everyone is going to pay the children of the state. At least with property taxes the very poor escape paying schools taxes if they live in public housing or a house that is assessed for next to nothing. You also get owners of commercial buildings kicking in towards education. The problem arises because the very poor sometimes find themselves living in homes with a big tax bill.