Schools ignore democracy, hit taxpayers with unfair tax hikes

RICHARD ROGERS made these points in a December 15 letter in the Dispatch/Argus. ..... marks paragraph breaks. "As usual the schools have decided to ignore the voters. Three times the voters turned down a sales tax increase, so now the school board has decided the voters are ignorant idiots and have increased our property taxes in a manner the voter cannot stop. ..... In a democracy the voters, the people, are empowered to make decisions, yet the school board, which is responsible for teaching how democracy works, does an end run to get more money rather than do the responsible action and consolidate all of Rock Island County into one school district for administration, saving millions of dollars annually by having but one superintendent and associated staff and office. Instead, once again, they have chosen to reach into the wallets of the working and retired classes to fund their agendas. ..... No one spoke at the hearing before the vote, not out of a lack of interest, but because it was a given as to what the predetermined vote would be and it would make no difference. There is no increase in Social Security this year, so I, like other retirees, must adjust my budget for the increases in the cost of living. ...... We cannot just raise our income, but instead see it dwindle because of the irresponsible actions of the schools. Unfortunately the basic tenets of democracy have been stripped from the people and replaced by an attitude of "we are going to do it" regardless of the people."