A Sympathy Card Again

Here, I found an editorial which was written by the editorial board of Austin American Statesman. They were trying to motivate people to cave at the latest “teachers won’t get paid” strategy of the advocates of the AISD tax increase proposition.

Austin school district tax increase: Voters should approve pay raises for teachers

Education is critically important for everyone. I agree that we should give teachers rewards for their duties and efforts. However, this time, I will not vote tax increase, because AISD is just playing a sympathy card again.
There are several things we should consider more wisely before we spend more.

First, will the money go to teacher pay increases? Remember the bond election everyone voted for to build new facilities? The Board forgot to mention no money was included for M&O of those new facilities. How could people trust them? Of course, teachers should be adequately compensated, but the district needs to tighten its belt first. It is not the tax payers’ responsibilities to solve everything and have no say or control.

Second, as the tax rates increases year after year, why we still have the failed schools such as Johnston High who cannot even rise to state standards? Teaching is one of the hardest jobs. I do not blame the failure on teachers. Actually, the state “standards” are part of the underlying problem. Children are not getting educated, and teachers are not teaching the basics any more. They are teaching students to pass a test that does not accurately measure youths’ skills and abilities. Many great teachers get frustrated with the winner/loser system, and some complacent “baby sitters” stick in the classrooms, benefiting from this misleading system. We need to look harder at redefining what it means to be successful. After we correct the educational system and let it get back to teach the basics, the good teachers and bad teachers will be make out clearly. As a result, we will have better graduation rates, better testing scores, and better teachers. Thus, everyone will strongly agree to give teachers pay raise and tax to the hilt to support them.

Moreover, we should also change our tax system. Not only the poverty owners but all of the residents should pay the school tax. The economy is getting worse right now, many homeowners are so eager to hold down their house and so afraid of any raise in their property tax. This is insane that the school district and the Statesman want Austin homeowners to pass a tax increase that would have $2 of every $3 of that increase go to some other school district in the state ostensibly to help pay their teachers. It is obviously unfair to the homeowners. This issue will be never past until our government changes the method of tax collection.

Hence, vote “no” until the AISD and government improves something first.