Posted by MoreCowBell (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 5:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Make tough decisions and tighten the belt.

Posted by SouthernAttitude1 (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 6:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Make do with what they have. I do.

Just because I want more money doesn't mean I can tax people riding by my house to increase my income. That would be silly. Just like the proposed tax.

These "educators" claim to be so smart, yet they can't figure out a way to make the money they have stretch? Every family has to stretch to make ends meet.

NO to the tax!

Posted by lo1an2go (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 7:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Consolidate the system seems like the best idea. Of course that will mean people in "positions" will lose their position. AND NO TO THE COUNTY GETTING ANY OF THE MONEY!!!!!! I hear alot of," for the children" but if you listen real carefully there is a catch, usually not concerning the children. Smoke screen phrase comes to mind.

Posted by bamafootball (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 7:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I wish I could get my emplorer to give me a raise every time I said I needed more money, but that don't happen, I just have to figure out what I'm gonna do on my own. I do get a "slim-to-none" raise each year, but it don't even cover the cost of living raise that we indur each year. Not to mention health insurance keeps going up, so each year, I make less money, which is depressing. So with that being said, I said HECK NO with a tax increase, just deal with it the best way you know how, I do!

Posted by ToldYouSo (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 8:08 a.m. (Suggest removal)

The question raised here is HOW the taxes should be raised. And AGAIN, property taxes are being tauted instead of the most "fairest" of taxes, sales, wherein everyone who spends a dollar pays the same amount of taxes. With property taxes, ONLY the person who sacrifices to pay for a home and land, while others (in most cases... wine, whiskey, beer, cigarette users, welfare cases) , expect others to pay FOR them! So now again, some are calling for these frugal people to support the "offspring" of another "lifestyle". To raise property taxes is just another form of Welfare. My opinion.

Posted by Blondie58 (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 8:23 a.m. (Suggest removal)

The school administrators always use the saying "It's for the children” to try to guilt the taxpayer into going along with these tax increases. The problem is that it never gets to where it is needed. Never enough text books to go around and the supply costs for parents each year still go up. Enough is enough of these constant pleas for more taxes. Times are hard for everyone and this economy will see more tough times before it gets better. People are working two and three jobs to pay their bills now. Increasing Property Taxes is not the answer either. Learn to live within the budget you have. The taxpayers don’t have anymore money left to help out the schools systems in Covington County. They are too busy trying to survive.

Posted by average_joe (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 8:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)

This is not the $64,000 question folks, it is simple, merely consolidate the three systems into one system. You do not have to lose your local school identity, look at the Baldwin County school system, one of the most progressive school systems in the state. No individual schools have been closed and the individual schools continue to have their own identity and compete against each other in all sports. Consolidation does not mean that you have to close schools or add expensive transportation costs. In fact the worst consolidation example is our neighboring Conecuh county to the west. They made one of the worst decisions in their consolidation effort, moving all their high school students into one new school in Evergreen and then did likewise with their other students bringing them into one school building. Transportation costs are a nightmare.

So do not oppose consolidation because Opp students will have to be transported away from Opp or Andalusia and Florala students would have to be transported away from their town schools.

Individual system financial problems should not continue to be fed by additional taxes on the working folks. Consolidate the three boards and three school system administration staff into one county school system (not into one school for all students in the county) and I will support and work for an additonal sales tax. The voters of Covington County have said repeatedly that they will not throw more money into three individual school systems. That is a luxury that we can no longer fund.

If the financial conditions are so critical, maybe the individual school boards and administrators should start efforts to devise a consolidation plan rather than try to protect their "fifedome" and beg for more tax money. If you support one board and one administrative system, let your county commissioners know that is the only way for support for more tax money for schools.

Posted by ljenkins (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 8:56 a.m. (Suggest removal)

"To put that into context, it means that for every $100 spent, it will soon cost you $9 in taxes."

It should read as "every $100 spent, it will soon cost you an additional $1 in taxes."

I don't agree with the tax, but they should at least sound like they are neutral instead of trying to find readers.

Posted by realist (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 9:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I'm sure what Stephanie meant is it will soon cost you $9 as opposed to the $8 it currently would.

Times are tough right now and I don't think raising any tax is the answer. In the past three years I've seen my effective income decline rapidly as insurance premiums (health, home, and auto), electric rates, gas, groceries and almost all other bills rise.

Wages are at a 30 year low in our country (adjusted for inflation of course). Sure, 1 cent per dollar doesn't sound like much but when you consider the amount we spend on taxable items like food, clothes, school supplies, etc. that penny on every dollar starts to add up. It won't do the kids much good if mommy and daddy are barely scraping by as it is and they have to cut back even further so the schools have more money.

The school system needs to do what many Americans are doing in these tough times: be happy for what you have and figure out how to make it work. I think the idea of consolidating the school administration for the three systems in the county but leaving individual schools open is a good idea to start with.

Posted by biscuitsandhoovergravy (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 9:37 a.m. (Suggest removal)

How many people are familiar with the "current use" method of calculating property taxes?

Posted by 2boys (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 10:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Let me start of by saying I am a struggling single mother, so I fully understand the hardships that families are facing. With that being said, the education of my children is a frontrunner of importance to me. I have family in the school systems, county and city, and the word "underpaid" does not even begin to cover their laughable salary. I've seen firsthand the amount of time,(well over 12 hours a day), devotion, and energy it takes to do the job of an educator (or support staff). While I'm not happy about an extra tax of any kind, I'm willing to budget my spending and contribute my small part to the education of our children. I, like others that have posted, also think that the school boards should "cut the fat". The educators and support staff are not the ones benefiting from the extra sales tax, take a look at your administrative salaries. That's where the extra revenue is going. 100k a year is rediculous for a superintendent. Sure, I think that this is an important job, but I also think that there are other individuals who would take a much lower salary and do a wonderful job. This job should not be about the money but about the desire to work in a school system to help the children succeed. The idea of consolidation should be considered, although without research I'm not sure it's the cure-all. Longer bus rides, bigger class rooms and more volume of students in one place is something that could be detremental rather than helpful. Again, I'm not against it, just think it deserves a little more research.

Posted by Blondie58 (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 10:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)

What do you mean Biscuit by "current use" method?

Posted by Shamrock (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 10:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Biscuits..: Not I. Please explain.

Sales tax - Mtgy has a 9% sales tax on everything.
Crestview has a 6% sales tax and NONE on food items.
A trip once a month to get essentials is sounding better by the day.

An afterthought: People fleeing high taxes in other states and counties may choose to reside in surrounding counties rather than invest in a home in C.C..

Posted by Shamrock (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 10:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)

2 boys: thanks for reminding us about the administrative salaries! How many hours do they strain in administrating?

You know, these government 'specialists' and commissioners look at us as their unending supply of monies for their projects and pockets.
Did I say pockets? I'm sorry.
It's that trickle down philosophy from Washington - as the Big Boys do, so do the small potatoes.

Posted by biscuitsandhoovergravy (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 11:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)

The "current use" assesment method is a tax loophole which allows individuals and corporations which own large tracts of land and timber to be taxed at the lowest rate which costs the state millions in lost revenue each year. If people realized how little these entities and wealthy landowners pay in taxes it would shock you. I oppose taxes across the board...but this is a better way that a sales tax,commonly referred to as a "poor mans tax".

Posted by 2boys (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 11:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)

My earlier post does not mean to imply that administrators do not have a valuable job, or that they don't put in the hours doing their job. My point was that the job of superintendent, or any other position in the school, should not be about six figure salaries. It should be about the desire to mold and educate children. It does not take a six-figure salary to do that. Just ask any teacher!!

Posted by bamabelle (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 11:52 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Shamrock referenced the 6% sales tax in Crestview. They make up for that difference in extremely high property taxes. Though that doesn't impact you since you don't live there, it certainly does impact the people that do live there. The fact is that the taxes are going to come in one form or another because that is the only way we have to fund our schools. The problem in Covington County and Alabama as a whole right now with the education system stems primarily from the fact that there are major constraints on allocation of money in this state due to our outdated constitution. The reason this additional sales tax is being proposed is because it is one of the only ways that additional money can be had based on the way Alabama's constitution currently reads. That is one of the biggest reasons there are propositions to scrap our state constitution and start over. Truthfully, this article is correct that it would make more sense to collect for schools based on property taxes. Unfortunately, until the state constitution is changed, that will not be possible. We have to fix the root of the problem before the other problems can be solved.

Posted by workingman (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 2:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Tax Tea Party set for futrue date. Why keep on with higher tax's on the poor. Those of money can pay, those with out will have now even less.

I have said this several times and will continue to do so, my question was, is, and will remain, "Why don't you pass a .05C tax on all feed? If I go to the any feed store and buy 1,000.00's of dollars of feed for rover, my cows, dogs, rabbits or any animal, "I DO NOT PAY TAX!" on this feed and yet to buy food for my chrildren I must pay.

Maybe the ones in charge have cattle, horse's and the like and do not think that they should pay tax on the feed.

Well I will just start going to Florida. Yes I will spend more in gas but at least County will not get it.

Posted by workingman (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 2:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Thank you 2boys.... Yes I have one in coving county school syestem now and six grand chrildren, all in the same school. Yes a lottery here would help, then we would not go to GA., FL., MISS., AK and TENN. If the great leadders did not say one thing and do another.

Case in point; Florida said all the profits from the Lottery would go to the school system and most did but, when the lottery came in, they took away all alocated tax money from the schools. Now the school funds come from the lottery so does other programs.

As far as the school syestem, I am not aganest them having all funds nessary. I am just saying it is time to close all the loop holes that the rich have and all ways will enjoy.

How does a business man succeed, by cheating all that he can.

If we would stop paying all of our Federal Income Tax to the Eight over seas. Read the 28th. amendment of the IRS and it clearly shows we are still paying for the 1776 war.

Who owns the Federal Reserve Bank?, we do not.

Take a real good look at all Govt's and one can see we are all being...... well find and write me back.

Yes we need good Education for Education is power and power is money and money is absolute power, just look at Montgumery and the Governer, giving a no bid contract to some one that has no phone, no business address, who is that woman?

Posted by 2boys (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 3:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)

But you see that your "feed tax" idea will be met with oposition as well...farmers will then say that the gov't is picking on them, a higher property tax will cause land owners to say the same, and a liquor or tobacco tax will be met with opposition, just as you say the gov't is now picking on the poor man. The fact of the matter is that it is impossible to please all of the people all of the time. I think that the county is diligently trying to find options to fund our schools. I applaud them for their efforts. If you, or anyone else for that matter, thinks that they can please everyone with an option to fund, by all means...let's hear it!

Posted by WAtidefan (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 6:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I have teaching experience in four states. Many teachers, to include this one, have problems with the allocation of monies. Often times, monies do not make it to the students/classrooms. Monies are earmarked and can't be transfered.
This may be slightly off topic but why is that some people always make most every topic into a class warfare? The haves vs. the have nots? Maybe a good starting point would be to define "rich". Not all who have made a lot of money (what is a lot?) did so by dishonest means. Reading some of the comments here take me back to my childhood and the constant complaining and blaming the "rich". I had relatives who accused me of wanting to "get above my raising" because I wanted to go to college. How many "poor" people create jobs for others? If you oppose this tax, then attend the meetings and speak your mind. If you support it, then do likewise.
As a person's income increases more money is spent. People buy more when they have more money. So, wouldn't the "rich" pay more in sales tax because they buy more?

Posted by rgodwin (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 6:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I don't live in Covington county anymore, but this problem is all over Alabama and probably most states. I think one problem is that some salaries are excessive, but not the pay of actual teachers and there is also a lot of waste or over spending. I've seen new schools go up and most are very elaborate and expensive buildings. The way a building looks has nothing to do with the quality of education our children are getting inside. I've seen school buildings declared unsafe and by the time a new school is built, some other organization or business is in the condemned building. I have family in the school system in Covington county also and I want everyone to do well financially, but the school system is just like the rest of the government. They always want us to sacrifice and tighten our belts and just take on another tax. It's ridiculous the amount of money spent per child in Covington county and then have the nerve to ask for more without cutting waste first. I'm just like everyone else. Cut the waste while everyone is struggling with this economy and if you truly still need more, maybe people will be more receptive when things get better.

Posted by WAtidefan (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 6:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I also think that consolidation of schools should be given careful consideration. Again, that doesn't mean bussing kids to one high school, etc. but having one school district.
Another poster mentioned one superintendent in CC making $100,000 per year. I did a little research on one of the districts where I once taught.
The figures are for 2008 in one very large district (over 350 sq miles) in Texas. The super made $262,000 in total compensation. There were 13,000 employees, 110 schools and the district had a billion dollar budget. So, 100,000 for one superintendent in CC seems a bit much to me. Granted, this guy in TX didn't do it all himself, the central office has a huge staff but certainly it is very possible to consolidate the schools in CC.

Posted by biscuitsandhoovergravy (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 6:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Hello WATidefan...excellent post. This discussion I believe should be about accountability, not about rich vs poor.

Rgodwin...you bring up a very relative point. Recently the powers to be would not have it any other way than to build a new oppulent school building here in Andalusia. The reason...the old building was unsafe. Apparently the ballet association is a very courageous group for they took up residence in the unsafe former school without any concerns. 9 million dollars in debt later we have a new school,for which they had to scrounge around for private donations to buy playground equipment for,and no money left for supplies,books,etc, for the kids.Somebody please explain to my simple mind the logic in this.

Posted by 2boys (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 7:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Thank you WATidefan...I love the fact that you have reminded people to voice their opinion! I did the same on another article about the issue. People don't take accountability for their place in the government...It's all about the voice. People should use theirs, whether they agree or and especially if the disagree with the issues at hand!

Posted by rgodwin (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 7:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)

biscuitsandhoovergravy: it's things like that I'm talking about. It just doesn't make sense to me to spend money that you really don't have on a new building or anything else and then just ask for more when you wasted a big portion of what you had previously been given. If we all handled our finances the way most any taxpayer dependent group does, we'd all either be bankrupt or in jail. I have no problem supporting education, but I do have a big problem with waste and still having your hand out while it's still going on.

Posted by iamabookworm (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 8:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)

According to an article appearing in the Birmingham News, Alabama's public school teachers have not seen an increase in the amount they pay for health insurance premiums since 1983. Teachers have paid $2 a month for single-coverage health insurance since 1986, when the premium was lowered from $10. The portion paid by the state is now $752 per employee each month, more than 19 times what it was back then. Paul Hubbert, executive secretary for the AEA, said the amount paid by teachers has remained the same in lieu of teacher raises. My observation is that many working in the private sector have forgone raises in addition to being forced to pay rising health care premiums often for increasingly substandard coverage.

Posted by Parley (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 8:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Accountability is the key to efficeint management of our school systems. It is painfully obvious to the casual observer that we must consolidate ALL the school systems into one SCHOOL DISTRICT. It just makes good sense. Pool the revenue and proritize the expenditures. Perform a top down and bottom up acurate review of expenses.
We may be surprised at what can be accomplished after this is done. NO FIRE WALLS...that is HOLD THE TEACHERS accountable for the STUDENTS success. If the students aren't successful, they should penalize the TEACHER, inotherwords hold the Teachers accountable for the students progress.
That is what we all want to see.... Reward Teachers who produce educated students. I wonder how many Covington County students had to take remedial courses as Freshman in College. I know I did, LOL... It took some work to get up to the COLLEGE level..before I could even take real college courses... seems odd not to mandate that our teachers prepare students to compete for jobs and be successfull... and I don't think that money is part of the equation..... more money will not solve the issue... but a QUALITY EDUCATION will. It is priceless. NO NEW TAX .... CONSOLIDATE and REORGANIZE...our schools are bankrupt.....

Posted by TheTeach (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 9:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I am a teacher in a school system located in Covington County. From an inside prospective, I would like the public to know that extreme cost cutting measures are and have been taking place in the school system. From major expenses such as teacher allocation (once $525 per teacher, now axed to $0) to minor expenses (reusing paper, etc). All expenses are scrutinized. Any expense that is passed on to the parent is carefully considered as to avoid an undue burdens on parents. Any further cuts will be severe and directly impact students. I do wish the public could see what severe circumstances we find ourselves.

Posts such as Parley's frustrate me. Do you really know how teachers are held accountable currently? Quite a bit. Despite what circumstances a student arrives to us, we are still responsible for not only providing students with an education, but often food, supplies, clothing, and more (certainly not every student but more than you may think). We may not receive any support whatsoever from home. Often, the task seems so overwhelming that I doubt myself and my decision to become a teacher. Yes, teachers should be held accountable; I agree with this. However, it is hard to constantly read the public "answer" to the ills of education. Few individuals outside of education understand the task. I wish those who feel they know the answer would volunteer or enter the field of education themselves.

Posted by alabamachris (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 9:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Biscuit and watidefan, I agree totally with both of your latest posts. I don't understand why so many of the other posts express concern about student bussing--none of the early posts concerning consolidation were about individual schools it was about the 3 existing school districts consolidating to one. As to the 9 million spent on the new school in Andalusia--the bond for the new school in Opp is for 10 million, hope we get supplies and books with that. Cut back on the marble floors and architectural wonderment and just build a respectable school house. I do not profess to know what building costs are but 10 million for a small town like Opp seems like a lot of money for a school house.

Posted by WAtidefan (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 11:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)

TheTeach: great post. Teachers do not pick and choose students. We do our best to educate all who come in the door.
How about an 8th grade science class like this:
8-- LC students (various learning disabilities- all have an IEP)
5-- ELL students (English language learners; two of these are also LC)
3--Honors students
12-- "regular students"
Total 28
No in class IA; no text book in English or Spanish; no translator. LC students have one period for academic lab to help with all classes; ELL kids have one period a day for help with all classes.
Any volunteers? BTW, this isn't intended to be a complaint. I love my job. But, believe me a lot of the time it is extremely challenging. TheTeach is correct. Most of those outside of education have not experienced what teachers really do.

Posted by Parley (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 11:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)

19 million dollars for school house's,
As many know, the CHURCH is not a building its the members who attend. So using that analogy let's put the money towards the member's i.e. students & supplies for preparing students, not some fancy buildings. I wonder how many real dollars hit the class rooms for student's & school supplies....
hmmm no wonder TheTeach has to provide for students..
It "frustratates" all of us Teach...
My hat's off to you for your chosen profession. Hang in there, Our Nation depends on you for the future.
By the way, I was satirically paraphrasing the President's speech in the last comment referring to his press conference today about how he plans to dole our Federal Dollars to schools in the future.

Posted by rgodwin (anonymous) on November 5, 2009 at 6:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)

TheTeach: You did have a great post. In my post yesterday, I wasn't assuming and don't want anyone to think I think that teachers are the ones doing the wasting. I have the greatest respect for good teachers who dedicate their lives to teach our children. I realize that a teachers hands are tied and they have to work with what they are given. I also understand that you have students of many different comprehension levels and also different desires to learn. There are some great teachers and then there are some that shouldn't be in the system at all, but that is another discussion for later. The waste happens at higher levels and I'm sure many of our tax dollars never gets to where it should.

Posted by Patrick (anonymous) on November 5, 2009 at 11:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)

The question may be incorrect. Is there really an immediate funding issue? When workers or groups get accustomed to spending at a certain level it is difficult to adjust to a lower level spending. When the money isn't there that is what is needed. Make do with what they have and investigate a longer term solution.

A study of the savings consolidation would make could be done locally at little to no cost.

This might mean dropping team sports programs or increasing class sizes. Both are undesirable options but they are options. Increasing taxes on the poor and working people struggling to make ends meet should not be an option.

The high cost of medical insurance (healthcare cost) is central to the education funding problem. Insist your congressman and senators solve this problem and reduce the cost of healthcare nationally and locally. The longer they take, the more expensive the fix will be.

Viewing local construction would indicate healthcare providers, defense contractors and churches are doing well financially. Some of them could step up and volunteer to raise funds for a temporary donation to the area school systems. It would be great PR!

Posted by purelogic (anonymous) on November 5, 2009 at 3 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Hey, what if we sold tickets at a dollar a piece, and at the end of every week, give some lucky fool half the pot.

The other half could go to education. 10% to the education curriculum, 50% to the atheletic department, 1% to teachers, and the rest to a superintendent for each community in the county!

What a brilliant idea! Tax the intellectually challenged, and then educate them with their own tax dollars!

Posted by realist (anonymous) on November 5, 2009 at 3:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)

A wise man once told me the lottery is just a tax on the mathematically challenged. The ironic thing is the other half you could "win" gets taxed too, at a very high percentage. So the government gets their share twice. Once when you buy the ticket and again when you pay taxes on the winnings.

Still, it's a good way to raise money. People are going to buy tickets anyway, may as well have them buy tickets here instead of neighboring states and keep that money in Alabama. I never understood why the lottery didn't pass after a man who ran for pretty much solely on a lottery for education platform was elected governor.

Posted by 2boys (anonymous) on November 5, 2009 at 4:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)

It's just my opinion but, I feel the reason that the lottery did not pass in AL is because those who are opposed to the lottery used their vote to keep it out while those who are pro-lottery did not vote! The opposers spoke much louder than it's supporters! VOTE VOTE VOTE for a change!

Posted by purelogic (anonymous) on November 5, 2009 at 4:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)

If the tax was 50% or 50 cent on the dollar for the winnings and you were the only one playing, you'd expect to "win" 25 cent on the dollar for every dollar you spent. Not a very good investment for the individual, but excellent for the government.

The dynamics change for an individual when the number of participators are in the millions. Basically you expect to win nothing, with a small chance of winning it big time. Overall, the government still wins 75 cent on the dollar. As realist points out, 50 cents goes to "education", and the other 25 cents(guessing the tax without investigating the actual tax %) is taxed in the general revenue.

There is a reason, that money isn't stamped when it is taxed. That reason being, it would be unreadable within a week after it's printed because of how many times it gets taxed over and over.

Even understanding the math behind it, I've played the Florida lottery a few times. I wasn't surprised when the tickets I bought were worthless. I believe a great deal of life is left to pure chance, so I have no issues with a lottery. The majority has spoken (or at least the majority which voted), and they seem to disagree it appears.

Posted by hiflyin (anonymous) on November 5, 2009 at 4:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Has any one that is in power in covington county ever thought about getting some job's there? Maybe something that people could make a decent living at before you raise taxes.
maybe some of the big wigs could suspend some of thier pay for a year or two.
Times are hard for the working people and they sure as heck don't need more taxes right now....unbelievable.

Posted by biscuitsandhoovergravy (anonymous) on November 5, 2009 at 4:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I believe the reason we dont have a lottery is simply an issue of trust. The public does not trust the legislature to spend the proceeds on education. When you talk politics in Alabama the overwhelming topic is corruption. With the millions of dollars from a lottery at their discretion I believe you would see the current level of waste and pork barrel spending reach a level even higher than it is now.

Posted by rgodwin (anonymous) on November 5, 2009 at 5:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)

biscuits: I bet you are 110% correct.

Posted by WAtidefan (anonymous) on November 5, 2009 at 5:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Biscuits: odds are you are correct. That is exactly what happened in Texas. Voters approved the lottery based on the promise that the monies would go to education. Then, poof.... none for education.

Posted by biscuitsandhoovergravy (anonymous) on November 5, 2009 at 7:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)

WATidefan and Rgodwin...thanks for the acknowledgement.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, here is a terrific story on the failed attempt to establish an "education lottery" by Don Seigleman. We all know where he is now.

http://www.taxfoundation.org/news/show/3...

Posted by supprtVets (anonymous) on November 5, 2009 at 7:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Stephanie, you asked for an answer, and I have one for you after careful thought and consideration. Opp, Alabama was the certain one having the problems and raised a temporary one-cent tax, 'consolidate' the Opp School System into the Covington County School System like the City of Florala's, the City of Red Level, and Straughn is just a culmination (a Bush word) of the old City of Sanfords, and old Ganntt-Rawls-Dozier schools into one school now. This will save money thus allowing the County School System to receive more funding and grants in which to function without any new taxes.
The Andalusia City School System has more money to work with since we have a large sales tax base with the 'majority' of all the retail businesses in the county being located here, and has no need for the 'consolidation'.
This should solve many of the economic woes without new taxation, this could be done with a mutual 'sit-down' and accomplished very easily, just some paperwork and agreeing to agree by the parties in the best interest of the children and their education by the appropriate school board members...............How about that?

Posted by BigDog (anonymous) on November 5, 2009 at 8:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Did anyone notice the difference in class sizes in the special edition on Kindergarten classes in the paper Saturday? Some schools could easily combine classes and form one class that would still be smaller than many others.

Posted by captaindon (anonymous) on November 7, 2009 at 6:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)

They really do want us to shop in Florida

Posted by biscuitsandhoovergravy (anonymous) on November 12, 2009 at 10:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I will have to give the B.O.E their due credit...they have got the gall. This is where our tax dollars go.
From WSFA.com Nov 12 2009:
In other state education news the State Board of Education has approved a salary of nearly $290,000 a year for Alabama's new two-year college chancellor, Freida Hill. The school board voted to pay Hill $289,900 annually, provide her with a state car, a $24,000 annual housing allowance and pay up to $5,000 in moving expenses. She also qualifies for a yearly $15,000 performance bonus.

Posted by captaindon (anonymous) on November 20, 2009 at 10 a.m. (Suggest removal)

More in taxes so they can give the money away just like Obama has borrowed Billions and given it to other countries. Why? they want to destroy Americans and this country so we will let them make this a communist country and do away with the office of president to have King O-Hitler pushing us around as long as he allows Americans to live. All who think this matter is about race had better look at the facts or just keep sucking up to the usurper for the rest of your lives which won't be long under Obama.