school taxes

[Carolyn Branagan]

I was quite disappointed yesterday when the Ways and Means committee defeated my  proposal that would have lowered the homestead property tax by one penney for school districts that met their Challenges for Change goal. The vote was 5 to 5 with one member  absent. When there is a tie, the vote fails. Instead the committee decided to raise school taxes!
 
Challenges for Change put Vermont school board members in a terrible position, but 17 supervisory union districts slogged through budget details and made cuts anyway, because the state asked them to. I am especially proud of the school boards in my district for doing so, Georgia and Fairfax.
 
I was not elected by lobbyists or unions or even by a political party. I was elected by the  voters and I am accountable to them. It was on their behalf I offered this amendment to  lower their taxes. There is enough money in the Ed Fund to lower taxes, but sadly, by one vote the message became, 'Thanks for saving us some money, now we're going to spend it on something  else.'   What are these people thinking?
 
Rep. Carolyn Branagan
Franklin-1, Fairfax/Georgia
Vermont House of Representatives
 

[Thor]

Carolyn,

     Thanks for trying! And I believe your question about "what are these people thinking" was simply a rhetorical question, but, just in case.... it is quite obvious that they are not thinking.

[rod anode]

by one vote the message became, 'Thanks for saving us some money, now we're going to spend it on something  else.'   What are these people thinking?
that its not our money but theirs to do with what they want