School property tax crisis in New York State

To the editor: One of the most pressing issues facing residents of our state, especially property owners, is the skyrocketing school property tax. While at one time it seemed appropriate, and even workable, to fund our public schools through property taxes, the ever-increasing cost of education and dramatic rise in school property taxes has now rendered the system unsustainable and inequitable. We all want the very best educational system that will prepare our children for their future. Those goals are not optional and they are of such importance that we cannot afford to fail. The question is, how we can achieve them? We clearly have two problems; they are not mutually exclusive of each other and they are not necessarily totally linked. Over the past 20 years, we have seen school budgets grow and we have seen school property taxes skyrocket. We must ask: Has the quality of education increased from school budgets were more in line with the cost of living, and school property taxes were just an incidental expense of property-home ownership? The answer is simply, no. It is not the fault of the teachers, the administrators or the school boards. It is the fault of a system that has gone unchecked, that believes more money equates to better education. State aid has not kept up. Unfunded mandates and non-mandates from the state are craftily worded so that parents and communities want, and need, some of the non-mandated programs, and the mandated ones are such that school districts are often left on their own to comply. What is the answer? Sweeping reform in the way we fund public education; with that, change will come in how we educate our children. The property owner can no longer pay the growing tax bill, and Albany can no longer escape its responsibility. Of the $33-plus billion we spend annually on our schools, Albany already raises $16-plus billion through broad-based taxes. If they can raise $16 billion through broad-based taxes, they can raise $33 billion and not force homeowners out of our communities. If our elected officials in Albany are required to raise the money to pay for our schools, instead of our local school boards, I can assure you they will become very interested in how that money is spent. No more unfunded mandates, no more standards that force our teachers to teach to the test and no more annual budget battles. School boards, administrators and teachers can then concentrate on educating our children for their future. These are not unattainable goals or wishful thinking. We, the people of New York, deserve a better system of public education both in quality and equitable funding mechanisms. Change does not come easy, but achieving satisfactory results for our children, and a quality of life for our residents, is worth the fight. Richard Randazzo Supervisor Town of Cornwall