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Read our lips: Some new taxes, maybe? Last week, WW reported that the Portland School Board is weighing public support for an increase in the scale of the property-tax levy that funds teacher salaries. That’s one of several ways Portland Public Schools might fill the gap between what a new teachers’ contract will cost and what the district has to spend (“Cutting Class,” WW, Dec. 6). Other ideas to balance the budget include administrative cuts, teacher layoffs, and trying to wrest the kicker check from your cold, dead hands. Here’s what our readers had to say:
Joseph Campbell, via wweek.com: “Even if the local property tax cap were lifted by the state, I don’t know if Portland voters would go for it. It’s not a great time to ask for more money. Back of the napkin shows that PPS would have to ask for double the property taxes to pay for PAT’s salary increases. Portland is already the 2nd highest taxed metro area in the country. Are we ready to become the highest?”
CosmosMon, via Twitter: “OK? Yes? Get the kids what they need and the pay teachers deserve. It’s why I pay taxes.”
witty_namez, via Reddit: “Since the kicker is in the state constitution, good luck getting a ballot measure passed statewide to change or abolish it. “Be sure to explain that we need to abolish the kicker because the teachers unions want more money. That will be a sure-fire vote winner!”
Ben Kizer, via wweek.com: “Three inconvenient facts that are going to make this new deal tough:
“1. Shrinking enrollment numbers. Families are leaving the district for one of the nearby districts in Washington County, Clackamas County or Clark County. Or they are sending their kids to private schools. The people moving to Multnomah County right now are typically younger singles or mentally unstable drug addicts who were told by their former cities that Portland was ‘tolerant’ of homelessness and drug use.
“2. Tax fatigue. Multnomah County and Portland have the second highest tax burden in the country, only behind New York City. People are tired of paying so many taxes for so little return. New bonds and tax initiatives are going to get a lukewarm response until there is proof that the taxes are actually benefiting people.
“3. No accountability. Most people, when they work a job, have a yearly review with their manager about their performance. They are told where they did well, where they need to improve, and then are given a merit raise, bonus, and maybe a promotion based on this. Since they’ve suspended proficiency testing for public school students in the state because it’s ‘racist,’ we have no way of holding our educators accountable. Being a teacher is tough, and yes, Portland has a high cost of living, but people, I think, would be a lot more sympathetic to all of this if we saw the great things they are doing. We aren’t seeing that.”
Kropothead, via Twitter: “Based on these comments, it appears the readership of WW has withered to a thin chorus of suburbanites who oppose improving public education yet still expect it to continue operating as a subsidized daycare in perpetuity.”
Macswain, via Twitter: “The transformation of WW into a right-wing rag for the West Hills elite has been truly astonishing.”
Xinlitik, via Reddit: “The comm department has a budget of $2.3M and 9 employees? Are they running Super Bowl ads?”
LETTERS to the editor must include the author’s street address and phone number for verification. Letters must be 250 or fewer words. Submit to: P.O. Box 10770, Portland, OR 97296 Email: mzusman@wweek.com.