IT IS TIME TO LET THE TAXPAYERS VOTE ON TAX INCREASES

Why do we continue to build schools when the enrollment continues to fall? Why do we continue to pay $3 to the City for every dollar we spend on a county school. There has to be a better answer. Our huge county debt is due mainly to school construction with the above payment formula. If the City of Memphis and Shelby County are looking for reasons for our financial crisis, they need to start with our two school systems. Our County school system is pretty good and their cost per student is lower than the Memphis City School system. Many people talk of combining the two systems or of giving taxing authority to the school boards. What a terrible idea. State law requires that when you combine two systems, you must bring the lower cost per student system up to the higher cost system. Stupid yes, but we are talking politicians here, not rocket scientists.

People ask me if I have an alternate answer to building new schools for a shifting population. I have several suggestions. Close and tear down the under populated schools to save on the maintenance costs. Then take the tax money spent on each student in the City or the County where the overcrowding occurs, an offer it as a voucher for a qualified private school education. Ask the parents if they want to participate in a drawing and then give the lucky winners a voucher to be used to pay for a private school education at a qualified and certified private school.

The most egregious problem and error is the ADA (Average Daily Attendance) split law between the City and the County. The law states that when the County builds a school in the County, they must give the City of Memphis School System the cost of the new school multiplied by the ADA split. The law, however, has a provision that allows the county to build the school with taxes collected outside the City of Memphis to avoid this disastrous payment to the Memphis City Schools (MCS). One school (Arlington High School) was built by this provision in the law and county taxpayers are paying 4 cents per year in property taxes for this school over and above their normal county property tax. Since, then the County Commission has refused to build further schools using this method in the law. The results are shown below. $539 million dollars in extra cost plus another $50 million starting last year.

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT BUDGET SCHOOL FUNDING
Funding bases on ADA (Average Daily Attendance)
FY	City	County	Total
1999	$57,300,000.00	$27,150,000.00	$84,450,000.00
2000	$95,296,146.00	$48,838,828.00	$144,134,974.00
2001	$57,300,000.00	$31,800,000.00	$89,100,000.00
2002	$57,300,000.00	$27,300,000.00	$84,600,000.00
2003	$57,300,000.00	$18,800,000.00	$76,100,000.00
2004	$57,300,000.00	$51,975,000.00	$109,275,000.00
2005	$57,300,000.00	$20,000,000.00	$77,300,000.00
2006	$57,300,000.00	$20,000,000.00	$77,300,000.00
2007	$43,000,000.00	$17,000,000.00	$60,000,000.00
Totals	$539,396,146.00	$262,863,828.00	$802,259,974.00
TOTAL PAID TO CITY OF MEMPHIS OVER AND ABOVE COST OF COUNTY SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION COSTS		$539,395,935.00

The reason for this financial crisis lies at the feet of the politicians and their refusal to make reasonable decisions that taxpayers have to make every day. It is time that taxpayers take back control of their government from the politicians by cutting off the tax faucet. I propose a voter referendum next year that would not allow an increase in the pot of property tax money in the County to state as shown below. It is time we allow the voters to decide if they want to pay more property tax money due to reappraisals.

 

Section XXX Amendments to the Shelby County Charter.

 

The total ad valorem revenue from the previous year being the ad valorem revenue based on the previous year's total assessed value of taxable property within Shelby County, may not be increased without the majority vote of those registered voters voting in a countywide election. If the county commission, by majority vote decides, that they want such an election and an election is not scheduled within 120 days of the majority vote, then a special election shall be called. Ad valorem tax revenue from new construction and improvements not included on the previous assessment roll may be included in the amount authorized to be spent without voter approval.