Guest opinion: Reasons why I oppose a school tax increase
By Robert D. Chilmonik, School Board District 1
On Monday, May 11, Lee County School Superintendent James Browder presented his plan to deal with a projected revenue shortfall. Central to his plan was to raise Lee County property taxes over $16 million and, along with my fellow board members, he is supporting a 1 cent increase in the sales tax. Further, he continues to place all the blame on Tallahassee and scare parents by threatening art program cuts.
I oppose any tax increase until it can be proven that all steps have been taken to cut unnecessary layers of administration and wasteful programs.
During Monday’s meeting I offered some suggestions of other areas that should be studied before we consider levying additional taxes on families who are already facing extreme economic challenges. The areas to consider include transportation, health insurance, land purchases, double dipping, the superintendent’s golden parachute, the over-budget computer upgrade, possible school closures, and reduction in the top-heavy administration.
The reason for my reluctance to any tax increase has been the board’s lack of planning, and reluctance to study any meaningful cost reductions during these difficult times. It continues to be business as usual in the school district, with many examples of out-of-control spending including a three year late, $26 million dollar over-budget computer upgrade, a School Choice program which costs more than state averages, administrators-to-teacher ratios higher than state averages, land purchases in Cape Coral and North Fort Myers reflecting seller gains of over $4 million and $5 million in just over one year, and a refusal to employ an independent auditor whose ongoing oversight of the huge school budget and operations would more than pay for his or her salary.
All of these concerns reflect a pattern of mismanagement and ineffective oversight that have not been fully addressed.
The road map to recovery in Lee County includes a healthy real estate market not burdened with high taxes; a professionally managed school district with SAT scores at least at the state averages, a full curriculum including art and music, properly compensated teachers/support personnel, all of which will help to bring new business and economic diversity to our county.
The best stimulus package is convincing businesses to relocate here and a solid school district is essential to that effort.