How Much is Enough?

To the Editor:

Last Monday the La Grange School Board voted unanimously to tax La Grange citizens for $90 million dollars. They say the money will be used to refurbish old school buildings so they can have a better campus flow and, most significantly, a new indoor band facility. $90 million… If this bond passes in May it will be added to the 2017 bond for $37 million. They are attempting to hit us with $127 million in new property taxes not including interest and term length. I was public-schooled and so I can’t do math with that many zeroes behind it. This bond will be on the ballot in May for voters to say yes or no.

This is insanity. LGISD has around 1,920 children receiving an education. These two bonds are taking between $60-$70,000 per student. Let that sink in. So how much money does it cost to educate a child again? Unthinkably, the money will be used exclusively for buildings so that those people who are not directly in the classroom, shaping hearts and minds, can have a place to do their admin work… when they already have great facilities in which to do this.

This madness comes on the heels of county officials maxing out our property taxes every single year for the last two administrations of the County Judge (looking at you Max Tax Dan Mueller and Just Raise ’Em Joe Weber.) The local oppressive property tax hikes have served to put the necessary components of the American dream further out of reach for the poor and middle class.

Homeownership is nearly impossible for young or middle income families. Rent is becoming unaffordable because landlords have to pass these property tax raises directly on to their renters. All because local leadership across the board (County Commissioners, School Boards, City Council) have their greedy fingers on the dial of property taxation and they think they can only turn it one way… up, up, forever up. But we have learned a profound lesson in government and education in our country: more money does not mean better results.

Add to this the fact that those in office lament the constant overspending of local government and underperformance of LGISD. The system itself is rigged so that these leaders can raise our taxes and vote themselves raises, and have no incentive to spend funds wisely. This has to stop, and local residents have to stop it.

We are a county of 20,000–25,000 souls. La Grange, Texas, has around 4,500 people. $127 million divided by 4,500 people comes out to around $28,222 per La Grange resident. Should we be asked to pay even more than we already are paying (which is already too much) to support a school district that has a “C” rating? How about they earn the money that we have already given them. Let’s send the LGISD School Board a clear message in May. “In the Name of Christ, No!”