A civic responsibility to fund the education everyone deserves

To the editor: The funding of public schools in New York State is a financial time bomb. The insatiable demand for tax increase from property owners each year is a social injustice and a more equitable funding system is needed. I firmly believe that each citizen (not just property owners) has a civic responsibility to provide funding of the public school system. It just makes more sense to tax income (or ability to pay) than to push low-income families and retirees from their home because of excessive school taxes on their property. The current system is failing, in part, because the time-honored traditional local “Board of Education” has systematically become a part of the Administration and is no longer the “checks and balance” mechanism in the system for all taxpayers. The result of this subtle change is that we now have a “School Community” composed of the School Board, the Administration (and staff), parents of students, PTA, and internally appointed committees with their own self-interest in total control of the system and expenditures. Their focus appears to make their school district the most advanced (and most expensive) in the state. Personally, I feel that all public schools should be financed on a fair and level playing field; students in a less affluent district should be entitled to the same educational opportunities as in the more affluent districts. It seems to me that State of New York should eliminate school tax on property and pay school districts a flat amount per student (say $14,000 per student) out of income tax revenues and all extra cost for special education needs. Each year the amount per student would be revised to reflect the increase in additional mandates and costs of entitlements. Although this change would raise state income tax, it would spread the cost of education over a much larger and more equitable base while at the same time ensure that all children are afforded the same level of education resources. What do you think? William A. Fullerton Warwick