Don't Compete with Episcopal Academy

I am writing with my concerns about the past and proposed school tax increases in the context and spirit of Pa. Act 34, and in the principals of common sense, fiscal responsibility and morality.

The power to tax must be used wisely and with the utmost concern. It is an awesome power and a responsibility not to be taken lightly, no matter what the perceived benefit to a community. Yours is to educate Everyman, and not to compete with Episcopal Academy.

As if it were your way or “on the cheap” the only two options.

If I were a member of the Lower Merion School Board I would have to be absolutely certain that I had the backing of a sound majority of the taxpayers before I could compel them to pay for what I may deem necessary. I don’t believe that you have done this, and I further believe that you are avoiding hearing what you don’t want to hear. The only right thing to do, in the presence or not of any legislation, is to let the taxpayers have their say. I demand that you, as legislators in the United States of America, allow the amount of the tax you have and plan to levy, be approved by the people. Don’t hide behind this idea you have created that the election of the current school board is a mandate to tax and spend, spend, spend. I think there is some confusion on your part as to whom you are responsible. It is to us who pay dearly, not to the school administration.

You should also know that I am concerned about a backlash or revenge vote in any upcoming referendum and in future elections. Be careful that your actions today don’t cripple the School District for years to come because you have angered the already gutted taxpayer. The amount that you plan to spend on the Harriton High School project must be significantly reduced to comply with the total $150,000,000.00 budget originally put forth. Whether that amount didn’t include this or that is of no concern. That is the number you must stick to. You must also find every efficiency, to the benefit of the taxpayer, in your bloated budget.

My school taxes have quadrupled over the past seven years and I’ve had enough of it. The resentment among the taxpayers is unprecedented in Lower Merion, and it will have significant repercussions. After the attack on Pearl Harbor Admiral Yamamoto said “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve”. He was quite right, yet the mistake has been made countless times before and since. If you try to bulldoze the taxpayer you may find him with a larger bulldozer, called the ballot.

James J. Doran

Gladwyne, PA

Comments

[Bill Manginelli]

Alissa,

Thanks for your thoughtful comment. I agree completely that we must provide a top quality education for public school children and be willing to pay for whatever it takes to do that. But I believe that this debate is about spending too much money on the wrong things. As a Harriton student, you would know better than most if the district is spending too much on administration and too little on education. I believe we need to prioritize how we spend our money, especially in light of new laws that will allow the public to vote on future operating budgets. That means that if we borrow too much, those loan payments may take away from education programs. The children that you are competing with from Episcopal Academy are currently in older buildings than Harriton. Buildings contribute little to the quality of education. We need safe buildings that are properly sized. And we need to guard our money so that we can continue to keep class size small and program quality high. If we build more than we need, we will not improve education. Rather, the strain on our funding will degrade our education programs. Also keep in mind that once taxes increase to a certain point, property values actually drop.

Thank you for adding firsthand information to this debate.

Bill Manginelli

[Alissa Sperling]

It seems only right to have a student give their opinion on this matter. In response to the previous comment, I find more and more as I begin looking at and applying to colleges that I DO have to compete with students from Episcopal and other private schools. While I'm not recieving the religious education that they are, it is essential that I recieve top academic education that matches that of the private schools. So far, Harriton has done a great job in providing me with this education, however it is in the best intersts of the students currently at Harriton and Lower Merion (and the future students) that we are given up to date and quality resources, just like the private schools. By constructing new schools, the school board is doing just that, they are offering us the same opportunities that the children in private schools recieve. They are giving us a fair chance at being able to compete with these children in college and the real world.
Also, please recognize that a good school district increases the property values of the houses in it. By paying more in taxes for some time while the new schools are built the quality of education in Lower Merion will go up and as a result a portion of this money will be returned to you when it comes time to sell your house. Therefore, from a financial perspective, even childless households benefit from the new schools.
Thank you,
Alissa Sperling

[molly deasey]

As the parent of an Episcopal graduate I was offended by Dr. Savedoff's comments. The center of Episcopal's education is its CHAPEL! Students attend chapel services three mornings a week
- undoubtably one of EA's biggest expenses on their new campus will be the construction of their CHAPEL!
If Savedoff is proposing that a chapel will be constructed on both Harriton and LMHS campuses, that ALL public school students will attend services three days a week, and each pay $23,000 a year - then I'm behind him 100%.