We must say 'no' to schools in tax vote

BOB BARTELS had this letter published in the March 29 Dispatch/Rock Island Argus. It also appeared in the April 2 Quad City Times. (..... marks paragraph breaks.) After serious thought, I will vote no. I have been avidly following the debate on the April 7 school sales tax referendum, weighing the arguments on both sides. I have read news articles and many letters to the editor on this subject. I have looked at information on the Internet both for and against the tax increase in the sales tax. I especially read the many posts at voteno2tax.blogspot.com. ..... Like almost everyone, I want our children to have a good education, but I remain unconvinced that raising sales taxes will help improve the quality of our schools. It seems that the tax increases of the past have had no positive impact, instead our test results seem to be going down. Simply giving them more money does not make any sense without first seeing some positive results. ..... I have been moved by the argument that raising sales taxes in Rock Island County will only send shoppers across the river and that Scott County will receive far more from this added tax than will Rock Island County. And I worry about what the Illinois politicians will do to replace the lost sales tax revenue. ..... Just as a parent must say no to a child. we must say no to our schools. We only have so much money and we must all live within our budget. I will vote NO on April 7.