To the editor:
I take exception with Russ Tarby’s missive that lowering school taxes by consolidation is the “only way New York state will ever see a reversal in its ever-rising property taxes.”
First, school taxes are not the only form of property tax in the state. We also have county and town taxes. Russ has actually agreed to pay additional property taxes, beyond what many of us pay, because he has decided to live inside the village of Liverpool. The village taxes residents an additional $12.45 per thousand of assessed valuation in the form of a village property tax. Russ could substantially lower his property taxes by simply by moving out of the village.
Second, Russ would have us believe that school taxes are controlled by “school boards, administrators and most strongly by the powerful teachers’ union.” What Russ fails to mention that the school budget is voted on by the local taxpayers. It’s the taxpayers that ultimately decide how much they are willing to pay for their child’s quality education.
Third, while consolidation sounds good in theory, there is very little evidence that it lowers governmental expenditures or that it improves efficiency. The village of Liverpool tried consolidating their police department with little success. Consolidating school districts would mean the 18 current school districts in Onondaga County would have to share services with each other — including the Syracuse City Schools. With the dire financial straights experienced in the city of Syracuse I’m not sure county taxpayers would be supportive of sharing fiscal responsibility for the city school’s financial nightmare.
Lastly, we need to remember that the Liverpool school board proposed closing Liverpool Elementary, a very low populated school in the Village. This would have saved the taxpayers of the district some money. However, the village residents fought the closing and not only saved the school but eventually Liverpool taxpayers voted to spend even more money to renovate the building!
Blaming the school board, the administrators and the unions for high property taxes is inaccurate, consolidation is not the only way to lower taxes and, most importantly, it’s the voters that ultimately decide how their tax money is spent.
Lynn Davis
Liverpool
