Maintenance, Part II

Two weeks ago I wrote about the School’s Facilities Sales Tax proposal, which will be on the ballot in Effingham County on Tuesday, April 4^th.  Like most columns about taxes, it was infuriating.  Taxes make people mad, regardless of what kind they are, and, considering our history, perhaps these feelings are understandable.  One might argue that this disdain for taxes is in our cultural DNA, going all the way back to the mid-18^th century.

Not tall taxes are created equal, however, and controversial issues often lend themselves to misinformation.  This column, then, will be devoted to hopefully clearing up some questions about the tax in general, as well as countering some arguments against it.

Question:  How much is this thing going to cost?

Answer:  That’s impossible to answer without knowing a person’s particular spending habits, but keep in mind that this is a one PENNY tax on each dollar spent for specific items.  Groceries and medicine—the stuff we need to actually live—are not taxed.  Farm equipment and cars are also not taxed.  Dining out is taxed.  Retail merchandise is taxed.  Gasoline is taxed.  For every dollar we put into our gas tanks, an extra penny will go to help keep local school buildings up-to-date.  For every dollar we put into our wardrobes, one penny will go toward giving our students a competitive edge for their future. 

Question:  Why should we help pay for teacher and administrator salaries? 

Answer:  We’re not; at least not with this tax.  The money generated cannot be spent on salaries or curriculum; it can only be spent on building-related costs.  This covers a wide range of expenses, from electrical updates to roofing needs, from wheelchair accessibility to building security. 

Question:   Why are we being threatened with higher property taxes if the sales tax proposal fails?

Answer:  It might be easier to answer this question with an analogy from the outdoors.  If you are in a raft going down a river and there is a waterfall fifty yards downstream, the guy telling you about the waterfall is not threatening you with a waterfall.  If you are floating down a river, you might get wet.

Thus, people who live in communities with public schools may see their property taxes increased on occasion to help keep those schools viable, particularly if that same community exists in a state as sorely governed as ours.  That’s not a threat; that’s just geography.

I live in a house.  I pay property taxes, and it would make me upset for those property taxes to increase.  It would make me even more upset, though, to see my local school cram fifty kids into a classroom so it can stay open.  The Schools Facility Sales Tax is partially designed to alleviate the need for an increase in property taxes.

Question:  Aren’t we just financing poor stewardship?  Why do these schools need so much upkeep in the first place?

Answer:  Entropy.  Everything in the universe, regardless of how well you maintain it, eventually needs to be replaced and/or updated.  Teutopolis High School was built in 1929.  Effingham Junior High School was built in 1939.  These buildings are testimony to both the craftsmanship put into them originally and the dedication shown to them over the course of decades.  To imagine that a school district has someone “allowed” these buildings to just “deteriorate” is both an exaggeration and a bit insulting to the generations of good stewards who have helped keep the doors open this deep into the 21^st century.

Question:  Won’t this tax drive away business?

Answer:  That’s a stretch.  Even if this sales tax passes, Effingham County will still have one of the lowest sales-tax rates in the region.  The idea that someone will drive past Effingham as they travel along I-57 or I-70 so they can save some pocket change is unlikely.

Question:  My kids are out of school.  Why should I help pay for a school in which I have no vested interest?

Answer:  This is a very good, reasonable question, and so I will try to answer it in a reasonable and thorough way.  Pragmatically speaking, the stronger “your” schools are—and I use the possessive pronoun “your” to indicate any school—public, private, parochial—that exists within the same geographic region in which you live—the stronger your community will be. 

Dynamic schools act as magnets for dynamic people, drawing them into your community, keeping them there from one year to the next, from generation to generation.  Dynamic people work hard, they give generously, they create jobs, and they teach their children to do all those things, too.  If that is the kind of community in which you want to live, then it stands to reason that you actually do have a vested interest in ALL of the schools in that community—all of them—from preschool to post-secondary opportunities.

In closing, it has always confused me why we, as a society, will claim to value our young people and make vague claims like, “the children are our future,” but then run for the pitchforks whenever someone talks about providing them with good schools. 

What is it about financing knowledge, anyway, that gets us so worked up?  I honestly don’t know, and I would honestly like a good answer.

Maintenance

My grandfather Wendling was born in Blue Point, north of Altamont, and lived in town for most of his life.  Along with his brother, he sold cars for the Altamont Motor Company on Main Street—Studebakers and Chevrolet—and he later worked at the NAPA store down town.

            Like most people who know their way around a car, my grandfather understood the importance of proper maintenance.  He knew that it was better to fix problems when they were relatively small, before they became bigger issues down the road.

Change the oil now or change your motor later.  At the end of the day, it’s your choice.

Very soon voters in Altamont, and the rest of Effingham County, for that matter, will have the choice as to whether they want to practice proactive maintenance on their aging school buildings.  On April 4, we will have a chance to vote “yes” or “no” on the School Facilities Sales Tax. 

Often referred to as the “1 cent tax,” this tax will add one penny to every dollar spent on a group of specific items, such as fast food and retail merchandise.   Much of what we would consider staples, such as groceries and medicine, will not be affected.  Even larger items, such as cars, trucks, and farm equipment, will also be exempt.

The money generated will go to our local school districts so we can provide our young people with safe, secure, and modern school buildings.  The funds can go toward a number of particular expenses, such as updating a building’s heating and cooling system or fixing a roof.  The money cannot be used for salaries, textbooks, or other curricular needs. 

Now, I’m not a numbers guy, so I won’t throw too many at you.  Each school district has its own “big budget” issues that need addressed.  Because most of my teaching career thus far was spent at Effingham Junior High School, however, which was built before the Second World War, I will use this building as an example. For starters, the school still has its original cast iron sewer and storm piping, all of which need replaced.  The roof, windows and doors from the 1939 section need removed and updated.  Many electrical issues also need addressed, such as modernizing the lighting, smoke detectors, and fire alarms. 

These are not cosmetic concerns or “wish-list” items; these are health and safety issues that the district will legally be required to fix in the coming years.  These problems, combined with other issues such as masonry repair, flooring, and ceiling defects, will cost the district over fourteen- million dollars, and this is just one building.

Unfortunately, we are well past the point where we can rely on Springfield or Washington to help us out in any reasonable way, so it’s up to us to not only fix our schools, but to keep them up-to-date.  Our students are entering a modern, global economy; the least we can do is give them modern tools to help them compete.

We can change the oil now or change the motor later.

It’s our choice.

Thus, the “oil filter” in this analogy is the sales tax I just mentioned.  Granted, if you spend a hundred dollars a week dining out, that’s an extra dollar a week going toward the tax, and that’s $52 a year, so I guess that’s more than one or two oil filters for some.  In the interest of full disclosure, folks who travel great distances might also feel a slight pinch, as gasoline will also be taxed at the “one penny per dollar” rate.

However, the “broken motor” in this analogy is increased property taxes.  If we want to keep our schools functioning without more help from Washington or Springfield, we have to keep those schools legally safe.  Eventually this would require an increase in property taxes.  Fortunately, right now Effingham County has some of the lowest property taxes in this part of the state, and if we want to continue our trend of attracting businesses and talent to our region, it’s important for that to endure.                       

Now, before closing, I want to emphasize that I honestly don’t know how my grandfather would have voted on such an issue, and I want to clarify that I am not attempting to politicize his memory. I mentioned him and his chosen professions to simply introduce a life philosophy I think most of us would agree has merit.  The reality is, the guy had a picture of Ronald Reagan hanging in his basement office, so he was clearly not someone who loved the idea of taxes in general.

However, one idea that brought Reagan into office twice and that still endears him to so many Americans today, is that big government is not the solution to our problems.  This truth has played itself out in Washington and in Springfield, and that’s why this sales tax is so important.  This “1 cent sales tax” allows Effingham County to take care of itself and its young people without waiting on distant politicians. It allows us to take advantage of our tremendous resources—namely the healthy amount of traffic traveling through our region every single day—and use that resource to help our most valuable resource:  our young people.

If you’re registered to vote early, please do so and mark “Yes” on the ballot for the School Facilities Sales Tax.  If you’re not registered for early voting, make sure you go to the polls next month, on April 4, and vote in support of this much-needed and economically reasonable way to keep our school safe and up-to-date.