Marv Begin, as he led a meeting of a group opposed to the Brainerd School District operating levy referendum Nov. 8, said Thursday he believes there needs to be another way to fund education.
That is likely one thing school officials and Begin could agree on.
Eight people attended the first People Against New School Taxation Policies meeting at the Brainerd Public Library. Of those, three people said they are planning to support the Nov. 8 operating levy questions and vote yes.
Begin said he has nothing against teachers or school administrators, but questioned why the school district needed a “wage increase” during these economic times. He said teachers should not be asking for raises. The district is currently in contract negotiations with its teachers’ union, as well as the other union groups represented in the district.
“We’ve got to find another way to fund our school system,” said Begin. “These referendums are coming in every other year. It makes no sense. ... We need another way of bringing money to the schools. And the teachers have no business having wage increases this year.”
The last time the Brainerd School District asked taxpayers to support an operating levy referendum was in 2007, which failed to pass.
Others in the group expressed frustration that the district was asking for additional funds.
“Enough is never enough for those people,” added Al Tschida.
Carl Specht said he believed in education but teachers should not be asking for raises this year.
“I firmly believe if the teachers want more and better — just wait,” Specht said, referring to a better economy.
Charles Halsted, a retired school administrator, physical education teacher and coach, said he also agreed that there shouldn’t be any wage increases and he said he has spoken to teachers who also agree that now is not the time for such increases. However, Halsted said he will be voting yes.
“When I look at this, it’s not about raising money for individuals but they’re trying to prevent cutbacks if they don’t pass a levy,” said Halsted. “Yes, hold salaries but don’t cut programs.”
Halsted said he is concerned that activities will be taken away from students if the levy questions don’t pass. He said many students need these activities since it keeps them in school.
Begin said if every person was taxed the same and that amount was divided equally around the state per student, then Brainerd would be adequately funded without asking for additional taxpayer support. He said he would be talking to local lawmakers about this idea.
“I know a way the schools can make $300 million. Let the Vikings go,” said Specht, referring to a new stadium. “And I’m a Vikings fan.”
Ray Asmus said he would be approaching Congresswoman Amy Klobuchar with a proposal he has that everyone over the age of 70 would not have to pay school taxes.
“I take great offense to that,” said Connie Lyscio, a school special education teacher. “I would hope when my son graduates from college and then picks a community to live in, I would want to support my grandkids. Isn’t it important to pay it forward? Someone paid for you.”
“I’m 82, I’ve paid enough taxes,” responded Asmus, adding that he raised five children.
“I’m 82, too, and I’m going to pay my taxes for the schools,” added Halsted, who is Lyscio’s father. “There are a lot of young people a lot worse off than some seniors. I see seniors playing in the casino. They got an education and (some of them benefited) from the G.I. Bill, which was tax supported.”
Richard Magnan offered up examples of where he believed the district was squandering money. He said half of the administrators should be let go to save money.
Magnan and Asmus both said they’ve called the district when they’ve witnessed district-owned vehicles stopping at garage sales.
Several people, including those who said they would vote for the levy questions, agreed that the questions on the ballot seemed confusing as they were written. Passage of the second question is contingent on the first question passing. Lyscio said the district can’t be blamed for the wording since the district was required by law to have the questions written like that.
Specht said many of his retired friends will be voting no.
“My wife and I will be voting no, so our votes will be canceling out your two votes, I hope you know that,” Specht said to Halsted and Lyscio as he left the meeting.
On Nov. 8, district voters will head to the polls to answer two levy questions. The first question asks for a renewal of the existing $199.24 per pupil operating levy question, a 10-year levy. The second question asks for an additional $200 per pupil levy, a five-year levy.
According to the district, if both questions pass the average homeowner will see a $4.68 monthly tax increase, or $56.10 per year, on their school taxes, based on the average taxable market value of a home at $144,300.
JODIE TWEED may be reached at jodie.tweed@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5858.
Comments (32)
Add commentWhy wouldn't
we want our teachers, policeman, and firemen to be payed more? Sounds like a good idea to me. I know a lot of you posters like to spend billions and billions on building schools, roads, and infrastructure in Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere in the world, but personally I would like to do it here....
Naaaah,
that makes too much sense.
itter
You sure like the fact of helping government emloyees, who already make more than the private sector, keep and expand their jobs. A union man no doubt.
Since seniors are concerned about property taxes
you could adopt a system as they have in New York and Michigan. At age 65 the property taxes are frozen on your homesteaded property and stay at that level. When the owner dies or moves then the property is revalued and taxed at the higher rate. The one problem that I have heard of in this situation is in aging communities that do not have younger people moving in to purchase homes.
llr
If it is an aging community, it would not need as many taxes for schools. So maybe that is ok.
pdnet
nawww, business owner, just want a better community, so take your assumption and ......
Brainerd Teachers
According to "This was Brainerd", 30 years ago approved 12% increases in salary for each of the 2 years of their new contract....WOW...pdiddy and the other ilk on here would go into vapor lock if that happened today.....Didn't Brainerd close Edison and Pine Center that year??
pdnet/barney
Which one of those gentlemen in the photo is you? Is barney in there?
I don't think education
I don't think education should be funded from property taxes period. Why would we use local funding to fund a state asset?
That idea of freezing property taxes on retired people is good because I've heard too many stories of people having to sell and move because their income dropped when they retired and they could no longer keep up with property tax increases.
Fish
Thats our common ground: Property taxes should not be paying for education. And you are right about freezing taxes on retired people...but maybe some income or value guidlines on that. I sure dont have the answer. But retired people on fixed incomes getting taxed off their homes is a problem.
Share the wealth
I think they should be more than willing to share their wealth. Entry level pays more than the average Brainerd income, fully tenured close to two times the average Baxter income. In some area communities, they are the rich as compared to others!
no raises in payroll for that tax period
I do believe had the dist. put a statement on the ballot that no raises in payroll for that tax period on the levy they are seeking this could have passed. The students need this funding...however the teachers tenured or not can survive on their wages in this economy. When the dist starts really supporting the education of our children then this levy will pass, until then it wont.
jjwilsen's sources
What's the source for your average incomes, jj? As far as 'fully tenured', which a teacher can get in 3 years, there's no way a teacher goes from starting salary to twice that much in 3 years. Let's say a starting teacher starts at about 30K a year and they pay scale and the average Baxter income is 25K According to your comment, by 3 years, a teacher be nearly at 50k. It took me 34 years of teaching before I saw 50k a year, and I retired only 2 years ago. Your numbers don't bear out.
Salary schedules that I've worked with might go up about 300 to 500 dollars a year -- in three years, that entry teacher might be making 31,500.
Complexity sails right over the head...
Of many people on this issue...sadly.
While it did not completely decouple property taxes from school funding, the "MN Miracle" of Wendell Anderson's tenure--supported greatly by many republicans of the day as well--raised revenue from a number of non-property tax sources to help insure all schools in the state had a baseline level of funding.
The theory was sound. Whether you lived in a poor/tiny outstate community or Edina, there would be state aid coming in to help provide a baseline level of funding.
Unfortunately through Jesse and especially Pawlenty's time, this system has been systematically dismantled and cut to the point where to maintain status quo--NOT TO INCREASE school funding, but maintain status quo--the only option districts have is to raise property taxes.
Here in Brainerd we have a status quo option #1, and and option #2 that would initially help bring the district closer to (but not all the way there) to past levels of programs.
There are so many things that are completely separate from those facts that people focus on. Teacher salaries--a totally separate issue settled through other means. Focus on the union and board there if you aren't happy, not this vote. Bloated administration? Not the case at all with any willingness to look into the matter. No--zero--business in the region has as many employees nor services as many customers in house on a daily basis as the school district does, yet each of the schools has just a couple of top level administrators responsible for many dozens of teachers and hundreds of kids!
Renewal of benefits time
So my employer informed us it is time to sign up for next years benefits. Let's see, our medical insurance went up 3 1/5%, vision went down 1/5%, dental up 2%, life insurance up 4%. And our raises, which we haven't seen in 4 years, is an unknown until February. Property taxes went up when they decided, after the last referendum failed, to insert without benefit of a vote, to help fund part of retired teachers benefits. And now they want more, but "it's for the kids". It seems that the school system is getting all the benefits and all we're getting is the "benefit of the doubt"! Lake, no I wasn't there, had to pay bills, though I do wonder why 3 people who support the referndum would go to an anti-referendum meeting, unless they trolls.
How many years??
Many of you are saying that teachers should not take an increase in salary. Check the salary schedules at the District. There have been no salary schedule increases for the last two years while teachers have assumed more liability for less of a benefit on their health insurance. In addition the District has decreased their liabilities to health care, especially in the long term. How many more years do you want the teachers to not see an increase to their schedule? 3? 4? 10??? Nothing would make some of you happy apparently. Yes of course the State needs to figure out a better way to fund education, but that discussion isn’t going to help our District right now when they need it. Not supporting this levy is very shortsighted. Hopefully most will understand this in November.
mailing to ISD 181 residents this week
I hope everyone studies the facts presented in the mailing this week.
Our kids deserve the same kind of education other kids get.
The grumbling going on here is a result (IMHO) of the long economic downturn. Teachers (some with 6-8 years of schooling) are employed and still have benefits - while many people are losing theirs. This is a sad reality.
This is not a competition. Without a great education our children and our future as a town, county, state, country is dismal. Education has to be a priority.
Anger should not be directed at our teachers, but at the SYSTEM that has hurt us all in greater MN.
@itterditter
You said:
"According to "This was Brainerd", 30 years ago approved 12% increases in salary for each of the 2 years of their new contract....WOW...pdiddy and the other ilk on here would go into vapor lock if that happened today....."
I'll provide you with some context.
CPI Inflation in the United States from 1979-1981 was 25%. Approving a raise of 24% is akin to no raises today as CPI inflation has totaled 1% over the past two years.
Vikings Stadium comment, please read the following...
...economics of investing for the future are lost on many.
Football fan or not, the dollars and cents add up.
http://brainerddispatch.com/news/political/2011-10-18/dayton-ill-call-st...
By Pdnet: "Let's see, our
By Pdnet:
"Let's see, our medical insurance went up 3 1/5%, vision went down 1/5%, dental up 2%, life insurance up 4%. "
What, you think teachers haven't seen an increase in some of these?
My medical went up (by 10%), and we don't get vison or dental because my wife gets a betetr deal through her PRIVATE employer.
Also by PDNet:
"You sure like the fact of helping government employees, who already make more than the private sector". Take the education attained (and paid for by the employee), pre-employment skills required, and the decade of silence where the private sector employees seemed to increase benefits and earnings at a faster pace than the public. Are you so sure about your claim? By the way, if its all roses in Gubmitville, maybe you should join us?
CPI
Not sure where you found that CPI figure of 1%, ditter. The US Dept. of Labor shows the two-year inflation rate to be at 5.76%. What was your source?
@Factfinder
I used the 2012 Statistical Abstract published by the United States Census Bureau.
waste
it took 2 mailings to us due to error on first mailing-what happened to the proof reader? a waste of money. get rid of some of those fancy titles at washington-there is lots of waste!
New funding formula
Using the Democrat platform of taxing the rich, those who earn twenty five percent and above the average income of all residents of ISD 181 should be taxed to support the referendum. Administration, teachers and support staff will be compensated on a scale of ten to thirty percent above the average income in fairness to the amount of education required and debt load for the position.
interesting, jj
Your comment of 3:26 is interesting ...trouble is, it is too late for this time around ... I also find that the more complicated you make things like you cite, the more complicated they become ... and I'm not sure that's what's needed at this point.
Raises?
Interesting that all these seniors are complaining about these teachers getting raises when they all got raises in their social security income this year. I didn't hear the teachers complaining about that but maybe they should considering these senior citizens did nothing to earn that raise in such a terrible economy. If you senior citizens want to keep getting raises in your social security maybe teachers and other people that are still working and paying for your raises in SSI should get them too. I mean after all without the working class paying social security taxes your pot of gold will too dry up and for most of these working people they won't see a penny of it when they retire.
icee181
You are wrong. No social security raises for cost of living have been given for two years. And it hasn't been announced for 2012 whether there will be any.
And ripping into the group which consistently gets out to vote isn't the best way to win support.
Good post lake!
Good post lake!
lakelander
where have you been? http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/10/18/social-security-to-hand-out-f...
I think icee181 makes some great points on all fronts. Although I agree he/she shouldn't alienate the seniors who will be voting.
1) They are getting a 3.5% increase in 2012.
2) All the suckers that are 40 and below now are paying into SS and will probably never see a dime.
Fox was premature (or wrong?)
The raise is 3.6%.
"People who are already retired also will get a raise soon, with Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits—frozen since 2009—increasing 3.6%, the Social Security Administration said Wednesday." (Wall Street Journal)
And since gas and groceries have risen more than 3.6%, this is just a little catch up.
Those under 40 will have to get proactive in changing, improving and saving social security.
They give and they take:
The federal government will announce the 2012 premium for Medicare Part B (outpatient care) later this month. It is expected to be $106.60, which is $10 higher than what most Medicare beneficiaries currently pay.