Have parents pay for school extras, not local taxpayers

Shame on The Herald for endorsing the continuous mismanagement of out tax dollars by advocating for another money grab by the school district (“Lawmakers must loosen school levy restrictions,” The Herald, April 7).

Here’s a novel idea: The state (taxpayers) pays for basic education (including funding for special ed) and parents of students who “require” enrichment pay for it themselves. Why do you think rents are rising so fast; the school districts constantly have their hand out for more of everything — with no discernible bump in metrics — and it is causing longtime senior residents to move and rents rising to unaffordable or sustainable levels as landlords pass along the costs. I’ll repeat a solution: property tax increases should only be voted on by property owners and only if 75 percent of those eligible to vote actually do so should it result in a decision. The notion that 30 percent of eligible voters deciding on tax increases must stop!

Richard Wilson

Everett