TABOR would 'boil the life out of our schools,' teacher says
A panel of citizens representing education, health care, public safety,
social services and clergy meet with more than 100 citizens at
the Green Bay Public Library to discuss the impact of the
so-called Taxpayer Bill of Rights and it variations.
The so-called Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) or any variation of it would devastate public schools already struggling financially under school district revenue caps, Ashwaubenon teacher Dean Debroux said Wednesday (February 15, 2006) at a community discussion of the proposed constitutional amendment in Green Bay.
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Dean Debroux |
Debroux used the analogy of a frog that leaps out if thrown into a boiling pot of water. But put the frog in room temperature water and slowly increase the heat until it boils and the frog will slowly die.
"TABOR will effectively boil the life out of our public schools, as well as our communities," he said.
It will force massive cuts in music, art, physical education, technical education, at-risk, after-school, sports and co-curricular programs, then force districts to increase class sizes and make other cuts to all classes. It will pit special education programs - required under federal law - against regular education programs.
If TABOR had been enacted in 1985, Debroux said, the Ashwaubenon School District budget today would be 20% lower than it is now. And, as it is now, the district is looking at many cuts that would seriously harm the quality of education in the district.
"Simply put, schools don't work without resources," he said.
The worst part of all, he said, is that under TABOR nobody is held accountable for cuts and there is little recourse for a district. Instead of hiding behind a constitutional amendment, elected officials should remain accountable for making spending decisions, he said.
"If they can't do the job we elected them to do, then we should vote them out of office and they should be looking for new careers," Debroux said.
In other discussions by the panelists:
- Sandy Duckett, vice president of college advancement for Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, said TABOR would undermine the college's ability to contribute to the area's economy by preparing students for jobs, including dislocated workers. Duckett read a long, complex sentence directly from the proposed amendment which attempts to describe the formula for restricting tax increases based on inflation and population growth. It was obvious, she said, that the sentence is nearly impossible to understand much less to grasp the impact it might have on government agencies and community non-profit organizations. It is "disheartening," she said that legislators would sign on to the amendment "without knowing what it will mean to their communities."
- The Reverend Charles Mize of the Union Congregational United Church of Christ, said it is Judeo-Christian tradition to care for those in need. "If someone in the community suffers for my personal gain, then I gain nothing," he said. "My interests are not served unless everyone's interests are attended to."
- Ursula Bunnell, director of client services with Goldenhouse in Green Bay, which provides services for victims of domestic violence, echoed that sentiment, noting that TABOR "over time will cause severe reductions in services to our neediest and most vulnerable citizens. Whatever happened to our sense of community ... that we would take care of one another?" she asked.
- University of Wisconsin-Green Bay student Nate Petrasek said the university system already is sharply raising tuition and fees while cutting services for students. "And we don't even have TABOR yet. I can't begin to imagine what's going to happen if TABOR passes."
- Green Bay firefighter Ann Peggs noted that city officials recently rejected a proposal to close a fire station because they determined that public safety demanded it remain in operation. If TABOR existed, they would not have the opportunity to make such determinations and would be forced to close stations, cut firefighter positions, reduce the number of fire trucks and ambulances regardless of the life-threatening impact such actions would have on the community, she said.
- Wisconsin Citizen Action staff member Nathan Sooy said more than one-half million Wisconsin citizens are without health insurance, a statistic that would only grow under TABOR. In addition, TABOR would take away the few options many of these people have, such as BadgerCare. Sooy questioned the premise of TABOR. "Frankly, government is not my enemy," he said. "Government is the way we get things done in this country. We're all in this together. And if we stay together, it means we have to reject TABOR."
- Green Bay Public Schools Superintendent Dan Nerad said his school district, like most others, is struggling to make cuts forced by revenue caps. But at least school officials and local citizens are in a position to make those decisions, he said. TABOR would "alter that equation" by effectively placing the decision at the state level within the state constitution. Local units of government, he said, would be "left with little voice." TABOR - or its most recent variation called the Taxpayer Protection Act - would erode the quality of Wisconsin public schools beyond what revenue caps already have done. "Let's continue to meet the needs of kids in a cost-effective manner," he said.
The Green Bay forum was the last of seven held throughout the state this winter by the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families (WCCF). They were co-sponsored by WEAC.
More information about the impact of TABOR is available on the WCCF Web site.
More on the forums
Resource Page on Tax Gimmicks
Posted February 16, 2006
