Sign the Petition Against the unF.A.I.R. Plan
A reader forwarded a note their school district sent out, asking folks to sign a petition against the unF.A.I.R. Plan Great Brooks Tax Grab of 2007. There are several hundred signatures out there already. An excerpt:
Without prior public debate, the FAIR plan disenfranchises the voters of Monroe County - who overwhelmingly approved their school budgets in May 2007 - and, worse, hurts school children in our community.
The County justified their 50% cut in education’s portion of sales tax dollars by highlighting new state aid to education. But, this year’s state aid was provided with the expectation that the new money would be targeted in specific ways to improve academic results and schools are being held accountable by the state for how this money is used.
Since school districts in New York are not allowed to operate in a deficit condition, this decision by the County will create a major problem in every district. The Morin-Ryan agreement for sharing sales tax money is state law and the County has no authority to change it.
Additionally, there is no evidence that the state legislature wrote the Intercept Law intending it to allow a county to alter pre-existing sharing relationships.
And now, the County, desperate for a way to pay this cost, has decided to take money from education’s portion of the sales taxes.
Here’s a link to it.
Related posts:
It strikes me that RT has been completely one-sided in its coverage of the Brooks’ Budget plan.
You have, for example, repeated, as gospel, every statement and position from the School Board Assn. and other pro-school groups. Is it even slightly possible that their arguments could be in any way self-serving?
Meanwhile, you have denigrated and dismissed any argument in favor of the plan as partisan claptrap. I note that you have studiously avoided mentioning the fact that the State Board of Regents wants to increase State Aid to schools by $1.94 Billion. While much of that aid would be targeted to high need districts, all districts would get at least a 2% increase. If the Board of Regents’ plan goes through, it would appear that school districts in Monroe County would more than recoup the lost sales tax funds (kind of like how Maggie said they would).
I have previously indicated that the way the plan was rammed through was bad government procedure. But I’d say its time to start doing what you claim you wanted to happen before it was passed; to wit: discuss the merits of the plan.
Simply parroting the talking points of school district representatives is insufficient. Get past your dislike for Maggie, Steve Minarik, and the GOP, and actually look at the plan on its merits (or lack therof).
One sided - so that’s it shut up and move on?
John- I do respect your opinions and positions. Glad you can see the ramrod process that the Republican majority practiced in passing this proposal was wrong
Re school districts - See you in court.
I mean isn’t it true that the increase in aid is tied some way to an expected increase in services provided? That is my understanding from my school board folks.
Or I can listen to Maggie and her defensive counter advertisements - I can remember the ramrod process this entire thing was passed by the lockstep legislature without community input. Without even a 2 day pause to notify or share this plan with people. I’m not sure there is is enough lipstick for this pig.
So either Maggie or the school boards are wrong. Given Maggie’s track record on this, COMIDA, REN Square and all the rest - or my Brighton Schools Superintendent - my money is on my school superintendent. someone who manages an open budget process.
You would like the people on this website to discuss the merits of the plan. Both the process which was used, and the current ad campaign, make it hard to do that.
First, as I’ve noted before, the failure to share the information concerning options, actual financial data, and potential consequences of any alternate plan leaves the members of this community (and I mean Monroe County, not just rochesterturnig) unable to respond with a well founded analysis. Why all the secrecy?
Second, the ad campaign is misleading. I don’t know if you’re willing to concede this, but it understates the impact on both schools and taxpayers. The phone calls comparing a 2% cut in household budget with the loss of already allocated money for schools is outrageous. And I have to say, if necessary, I don’t mind an increase in certain taxes, like property taxes. But I don’t want to be told to that my grandpa just pulled a quarter out of my ear, and I don’t want anyone to expect us to believe that. (Maybe a dime, but not a quarter.)
Third, if we had the data, we would need the time to have those experienced in the field - accountants, all the legislators - not just those with an agenda of being able to claim they didn’t raise taxes, no matter how dishonest the claim, schools, lawyers - everyone - have ample time to review this plan. Including the details. What is the actual impact on each school? On each program within the school? Had there been time, could schools have adjusted their programs to address this?
Finally, school budgets are prepared in advance. Money is allocated in advance. I don’t know what each school’s budget year is, but I’m sure they didn’t leave a pot of tens to hundreds of thousands lying around for when their funding was switched midstream. And the money that’s allocated can’t suddenly be pulled from one budget line and distributed to another. So Maggie thinks she’s solved her little problem, but she’s just foisted it onto the backs of us, our children, and schools (whose administrators are being demonized for something they didn’t do, and something about which they weren’t even allowed to offer input). And of course, the taxpayers, who are being told SHE didn’t raise taxes, and are stil going to have to pay higher taxes, are left with that awful taste in their mouths that occurs when we know we can’t trust our government officails.
Here’s my suggestion - you want open debate, have Maggie reopen the issue before the County Leg and allow open debate. Before it’s a done deal. Then we can address the substance of the plan in a knowledgeable way.
Um - What you said. excellent comment
I remember a leg meeting where they discussed the Water Authority. The Dems asked questions, the administration didn’t provide the answers and Bill Smith - leader of the lockstep legislature accused the Dems of not having the information.
By the way, where do Maggie and her apologists get off criticizing schools for failing to slash budgets after getting their revenue cut. . . by her?
It seems to me that the entire argument got started because Maggie chose to increase the County’s revenue to make up for deficits. This is in direct contrast to the stated Republican position that all government budget woes can be solved by cutting programs. Schools aren’t even allowed to run deficits in the first place, but she’s going to talk crap about the schools’ inability to make cuts she herself was unable to make?
Even according to Republican principles - such as they are - this is the height of hypocrisy.
[...] RochesterTurning has a link to the new online petition demanding a roll-back of the tax intercept theft plan Maggie Brooks and the Republican Monroe County Legislators chose to pass in lieu of actual budget balancing.ÂÂ There’s also an interesting discussion brewing in the comments. (No Ratings Yet) Loading … [...]
Excellent reply.
With all due respect to those who keep touting the proposed state aid increase, we all know that this is not set in stone. It has not been “promised”, as Mr. DiCaro has pointed out (there is a big “IF” in all of this). And if it falls short, will the county reinstate the money they are taking from the schools? Money that was essentially “promised” (at least for the current school year).
My big issue with the FAIR plan arose not from the plan itself, but from how several area politicians are touting how much they are lowering taxes while maintaining essential services. Whenever the school funding issue is brought up they conveniently wash their hands of the matter by using the words “record increases in state aid”. That is very disingenuous.
Even more pathetic is how the tables are turned yet again, and any opponent to a Republican incumbent is suddenly a “liar”. According to the mailer I received yesterday from Maggie Brooks (on Ray DiRaddo’s behalf), she is saddened that Dick Beebe has chosen to take the low road and lie about the FAIR plan. She doesn’t say what the lies were, but there is a nice note on the mailer that schools will not lose funding. Not true. They have lost funding. Remember the saying, “A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.” FAIR wants us to be happy with one in the bush. I just hope for our kids’ sake that it doesn’t get away.