Another Tax Hike

School Board chairman Ray Hudalla says this is a make or break year for Henry County schools. State cutbacks are largely blamed for the system’s financial woes. Of course, recent 2-percent pay raises and rising insurance premiums add to inflationary pressures. Hudalla says the school system is now studying compensation and benefits while streamlining staff responsibilities. A looming question is why now? The state cutbacks started several years ago and the financial belt-tightening is not new. Why are we taxpayers being told how bad things are now? Read on.

Everyone probably agrees with Hudalla when he says that SPLOST (the penny sales tax) is among the best ways to finance capital improvements. We have approved two cents for the County in local option and special purpose local option sales taxes. We have approved a one-cent special purpose tax for the schools. The Henry school system has never been denied a request for sales taxes. We all seem to agree that consumption taxes are more acceptable than increased property taxes.

Nobody at the school board is talking about the very high property taxes we already pay. Everyone knows about the County’s shell game with assessments that raise our taxes annually. And the same formula benefits the school system. We now pay 19.4 mils in property tax plus 3 mils for school bonds. Baby, that is a lot of money!

All the recent news stories about Henry’s school system needing more money raise a big, red flag. We are constantly told how they simply do not have enough money. They just cannot see how they will survive into next year. School officials invariably blame the county’s booming growth. But we never hear answers to some big questions.

Why is every school built on the same under-sized plan, requiring trailers in their first year of operation?

Why are new schools located in far-flung locations? That plan requires great expense (to us taxpayers) for roads and sewer lines. It also provides a back door growth policy: schools bring roads, sewer and higher-density housing developments. The obvious problem is the County’s infrastructure does not keep up. Traffic congestion on our inadequate country roads surrounding Union Grove and most other schools is one clear example.

Both the county board of commissioners and the county school board deny responsibility for the diminished quality of life. Annual tax increases come with the usual apologies, but no relief is in sight. Both boards nail us with oppressive property taxes, but they both toss responsibility over the fence! While blaming “growth” for all their problems, neither elected board will act on behalf of taxpayers! Another editorial spoke about their addiction to property taxes. Somehow we taxpayers are expected to accept non-answers and non-action along with higher tax bills.

All the moaning about make-or-break finances is a setup. We are being conditioned for another property tax hike – mark my words. Already rumors are flying that the school board wants the legislature to allow them to go over the current legal limit of 20 mils.

There are no easy answers. But we all know that growth policy (and enforcement) requires true coordination between the board of commissioners and the board of education. Considering the salaries of school system executives, we have a right to expect better management. It is not enough to meet short-term needs, hoard money in reserve accounts, and then come back for higher taxes next year. The millions and millions of dollars wasted, without tangible results or even a glimmer of hope, cannot be justified.

It is time to contact the board of education members, our county commissioners and our state legislators. We must demand solid long-term planning with true cost analysis and attainable management criteria. Otherwise we have the wrong people in these elected positions. Otherwise, we taxpayers should not approve another SPLOST or bond referendum for either taxing authority. This position demands no more than we taxpayers deserve.

Larry Stanley
McDonough, GA
12/20/2005

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