Jackson pushes for statewide tax for all schools
on October 17th, 2006 at 7:54 am[excerpted]
(chicagodefender.com) Throughout the nation, prominent individuals such as Marian Wright Edelman, founder of the Children’s Defense Fund, and educational activist and author of Shame of the Nation, Jonathan Kozol, along with educators and parents agree that subsidizing public education through property tax is unfair. It is the contention of this movement’s supporters that too often schools serving rural areas and neighborhoods occupied by the poor and people of color do not have access to the same academic opportunities as schools serving individuals living in wealthier areas simply because affluent areas typically generate higher property taxes.
“We shouldn’t have a system from when a child steps foot in a pre-K or kindergarten classroom that they have vastly different opportunities based solely on their zip code or the community they live in,” angrily spoke Bindu Batcha of A+ Illinois, an organization whose goal is to improve the quality and funding of education in Illinois.
These were the sentiments echoed throughout the enthusiastic crowd, but Jackson wanted that enthusiasm directed toward change. He instructed the audience to dedicate themselves to the passage of State Bill 750, initially proposed by State Sen. James Meeks (I-15th).
The bill makes the funding of public education a broad based tax responsibility for all in the state rather than the varying tax burden levied from community to community. This creates a more fair and balanced tax responsibility among all individuals within the state and provides equal access to funds for all students. (more…)
While I cannot fully comment on the Chicago public school system, there is no way I am gonna pay an increase in taxes for Los Angeles or San Francisco public schools. As for CPS, I wonder how resources have been managed over the years. Can they factually link drop-out rates and low performance to lack of funding? I think not.
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