Parents in School District Hit by Cuts Want to Pay More, but State Won't Allow It

[The Straight Story]

Parents in School District Hit by Cuts Want to Pay More, but State Won't Allow It

Michelle Trouvé wants to pay more taxes to support her local schools. The state of Kansas won't let her, and the resulting standoff has pit parents in affluent districts against those in the state's poorer towns.

Ms. Trouvé, a mother of three in a wealthy Kansas City suburb, saw the state trim classroom funds several years running, forcing the local Shawnee Mission School District to slash sports programs, library services, foreign-language classes and support for gifted students.

Ms. Trouvé and other parents came up with a solution: Put a property-tax increase dedicated to school funding on the ballot. Voters in her school district have approved several in recent years and Ms. Trouvé is confident they would do so again, if given the chance.

But Kansas is one of a handful of states that limit how much money local school districts can raise from property taxes—a restriction to ensure a rough parity in spending across the state.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704329104576138983726581672.html?mod=WSJ_WSJ_US_News_6

[liberal N proud]

1. Driving parents who can afford education to private schools

This is what the slashing of education funding is really about - privatization.

[NotThisTime]

4. Absolutely.... This hurts all students in the end but that makes no difference

[greymattermom]

2. next door in Blue Valley

The Blue Valley school district has a private foundation to support the extras not covered by property taxes. Wealthy Leawood and South Overland Park residents give tax deductible contributions for those extras.

http://bvef.bluevalleyk12.org

[southernyankeebelle]

3. The republicans want to cut schools. Before long manadatory school will be outlawed. Just

where the republicans want us. They will have a workforce of idiots who will be happy to have a job with a low wages. Our overseasers have us right where they want us. Uneducated for the world. This country is going backward. We deserve to lose our place in the world. Our govt doesn't want to invest in our own people.

Don't worry before long this country will be on the same level as a 3d world country. Then maybe when our people see that the rich are getting everything maybe then they will stand up and protest for their rights. Until then we americans keep our head in the sand.

[MissB]

5. Our state has a similar equalization method, and districts get around it.

Parents set up a private foundation to collect donations and the monies collected are given to the schools in the district. Our small affluent district's foundation raises $1 million a year, which goes to the district's two small schools. It pays for smaller class sizes, art/music/PE/foreign language teachers, etc. And parents get to claim a charitable deduction.

There is always a way around it. Our state provided the same per student level of funding to each district, but each district's offerings are a reflection of the average per capita income.