School sales tax: it's called fiduciary responsibility

BILL LONG had this letter published March 15 in both the Quad City Times and Dispatch/Rock Island Argus. (..... marks paragraph breaks.) "When a person accepts a position that is dependent on tax dollars, they also accept the position that they will spend those dollars in a responsible manner. ..... The proposed school sales tax referendum is supposed to be used for capital improvements. ..... We know it would be easy to budget new dollars for improvements and shift current monies to compensation and benefits. ..... If you check with openthebook.com you will see that in the Moline District 40, Rock Island District 41 and United Township District 143 there are 156 teachers listed who have annual earnings from $100,000 to $209,000. ...... It would seem their budgeting process is centered on salaries and not capital improvements. ..... Seems like the average Rock Island County taxpayer's income has a long way to go to catch up with the teachers they support. ..... The idea that we should vote in a tax increase for capital improvements is the usual promotion by the school board and teachers union. Why is it we never hear of them cutting back on expenses to provide any needed additional dollars? ...... They ask us to approve more taxes for them and yet they limit the public use of these buildings to satisfy their own political comfort zone. ..... Did you ever try to hold a rally for the Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts in a school facility? Save your breath, they won't allow it. ..... Let's make sure this referendum is defeated, as it has twice before, until those in charge can modify the budgeting process to the needs of the public and students, not the administration."