EDITOR:
The Park Hill School District just can’t seem to get enough money. Now they want TWO new taxes – one would fund new capital projects and the other would fund salary increases for teachers.
Just two years ago, they asked the voters to approve a “no new tax” bond measure for capital improvements. First of all, a “no new tax” bond measure is a new tax. When one tax expires, that tax goes to zero, so the new tax actually IS a new tax.
Second, many of the projects that we thought were going to be included in the previous bond measure apparently still need to be done. Why didn’t those projects get done with the last tax? Where did all that money go?
And the new tax to fund teacher salary increases is just a cash grab. The Park Hill School District is already in the top 3% for average teacher salaries in Missouri. But with those high salaries, they can barely squeak into the top third of school rankings according to the ShowMe Institute.
More money for salaries will NOT lead to better student performance. In fact, a study of the ShowMe school database shows very little correlation between average teacher salaries and school rankings.
And finally, property values in the PHSD have exploded over the last 10-15+ years, leading to massive increases in property tax revenues for the school district. With all this extra revenue, why does the district need any more money at all?
My message to the Park Hill School District is simple – quit taking so much money from hard working families and figure out how to do more with less.
--Scott Fricker
Resident in the
Park Hill School District
