Jan-05
01
The Funding Machine Continues
By
There are a number of people lining up to challenge State Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster in this spring’s election, but none of them seems to be more liberal than shop teacher Todd Stelzel of Black Earth.
Mr. Stelzel obviously feels as though our schools are somehow “underfunded”. He wants to revamp school funding by setting up toll booths on Wisconsin’s borders and making out-of-state residents pay higher taxes on property they own in the state and creating a higher sales tax.
When will it ever end? These people have no concept of controlling spending and they feel as though the taxpayers are a bottomless pit of money. Now we’re counting on our neighbors as well!
No related posts.
I just returned from a short New Year’s Eve celebration on the shores of Round Lake in Sawyer County. Our close friends, Minnesota residents, purchased a property on Round Lake about a year ago. Last week they proceeded over to the local tax office and paid well over $6000 in property taxes to a school district they will never use, and never benefit from – one iota. Oh, you say, all of us benefit by contributing to the collective of education. Right. Prove it to me. Show me how this family, who already educates kids in Minnesota, will benefit? You can’t because you cannot measure it.
Furthermore, even if you could measure it, it still doesn’t address the fundamental wrong implicit in taxing people’s private property (subject to confiscation by the government) for the benefit of others. That is the dirty little secret of such schemes.
The truth is, there would have been zero taxes contributed were it not for this family improving that property. So, to raise the fence with further taxation on out of state residents would simply turn the facet off a little bit more. Fewer properties will be sold, less taxes will be collected, Wisconsin will become a worse tax hell.
The first smart step would be to either elimnate, or dramatically reduce, the school portion of taxes on out of state residents who purchase in-state property precisely because they contribute no additional expenses to the local schools – why should they be paying for it? They are not putting kids in that school system. They do not use the facilities at all! Never will! The answer is, they should not contribute one red cent.
Todd Stelzel is simply another in a long line of moochers looking to live and prosper on the backs of other people – in this case, the good productive citizens of Minnesota and Michigan. It’s simply immoral to tax people’s private property for the benefit of others because (in addition to several other reasons) it removes the whole idea of benevolence from our society.
I wonder what Mr. Stelzel would think if the State Of Minnesota placed a .25 cent per gallon tax on Wisconsin Licensed vehicles who purchase gas in Minnesota? Just to fund their own bloated education system?
Oh, come on! You just don’t know when to stop! Don’t you realize after all this time that it’s “the children” !
Don’t you want your child to have the best looking school and taxes so high that they will be forced to move out of town? After all, they have to get a “quality education” so that the “children” can get a good enough job and marry a mate with a good enough job so that they can spend all their life working to pay taxes and the government can take care of the children with 4 yr. old kindergarten, etc.
In response to the comments…..Please know that tolls and nonresident taxes are only ideas to help offset the annual rising cost of Wisconsin public education. As State Superintendent of Public Instruction I would have absolutely no power to raise taxes or generate revenue, since the state is the plenary power. Any idea is a bad idea when you have to suggest ideas for generating revenue, which will be needed for the future of public education, since the cost will continue to rise in my opinion. However, Please know that I appreciate the feedback. Do you have any ideas? If so, please send them to me.
Sincerely,
Todd Stelzel
I’ve got a few ideas Todd, but you probably don’t want to hear them. How about creating more competition either through vouchers or tuition tax credits? How about having teachers retire on a 401K instead of a defined benefit program? How about taking a look at the healthcare benefits and having teachers pay more like the rest of us. How about not covering healthcare premiums between retirement age (55) and when a person goes on social security. Those would be some starters. I can give you more if you’d like, but raising taxes is a ridiculous solution to the mess that we’re in.
Greetings Todd,
Yes, there are some bright ideas. I would refer you to a recent post on this very blog entitled “Alternatives,” written by bildanielson. I suspect there will be a follow-up to that at some point in the near future.
http://www.ontheborderline.net/index.php?p=565
There are some great ideas out here, but it will take guts and vision, along with rethinking the whole educational paradigm (sorry about that).
Stay tuned.
How about building schools that do not look like something out of “Home and Garden” magazine. Build nice schools that serve their purpose but are not some “statement” (and nicer than the homes most the kids LIVE in!). We don’t need skylights and vaulted ceilings that us tax payers need to then pay to heat and cool. Eliminate bogus classes such as “fishing” (how in God’s name does THAT prepare my child for the future and educate him??). Also explain to us why it costs more than 3 times to educate our children in public schools than in private schools in the area. On top of that, explain why my taxes for education have skyrocketed in the last 6 years but our quality of education has not. This is just a short list to start with by the way….
Todd, First of all welcome to the discussion. I do have to ask about your premise that education costs will continue to rise. Why should it? Over thirty years ago this state had about 100,000 more students in public education then it does today. Please explain why a product which has experienced a decrease in demand should have an increase in price. In the true marketplace that particular product would soon become extinct. Also please explain why a product which is inferior in quality as compared to test scores of other countries in the industralized world and to its domestic education alternatives should cost the most?
Furthermore, do you feel parents have the right to choose what is best for their children and that their money should follow that choice. In other words if a parent hires Anne as a babysitter should they also have to pay for Beth whose services they did not use? If they attend The Lutheran Church should they pay for the ministry of the Baptist Church?
One other point, Todd do you believe in political freedom? In that no one should be forced to align or financially support a political party against one’s convictions. The teacher’s union of which I presume you belong to, has become one of the largest political machines in the state and the nation. Why should I as a taxpayer who chooses education outside of public schools be forced to support the political agenda of the union? Afterall union dues came out of my pocket.
Answer these questions and you will have the answer to improving Education, that’s right a big E, in this state. Our concern should be on Education for all students and not what is best for the monopoly of government education[ little e] which costs twice as much as comparable goods with less output.
After “stepping out of bounds” with my comments/ideas I feel the need to respond further. First of all, I appreciate the comments, ideas, and suggestions very much and agree with many of the opinions stated. Like many of you, I firmly believe that citizens can make a difference in holding down the cost of public education, if they are willing to participate in the process.
For example, I agree that “Fishing 101″ has no merit, worth or value, as far as a public school course offering is concerned. In addition, architecturally pleasing buildings are too expensive and items like skylights and marble columns should be eliminated from the final working drawings to save school districts money. Finally, collectively bargaining has eliminated teacher strikes and provided me with the type of salary I earn, however, “screening interviews” with teacher union political action committees, in my opinion ( and I’m sure you would agree), pollutes the election process of the state superintendent. In a nut shell, “it’s a mess.”
Please know that as a public school teacher, who has enjoyed 20 years of successful teaching experiences, I am very comfortable with my wage and consider myself to be lucky as all get out to have affordable health care benefits. In other words, I have no complaint about my salary and consider myself fortunate when I know that others are struggling to provide for their families.
My concern is over the fact that “worthy” educational programs, like industrial education and agriculture education, has had operating budgets slashed by nearly 50% over the last 6 years. This of course is caused by rising health care costs and teacher pay raises.
Make no mistake, some teachers need money to pay for equipment, materials, and supplies, in order to teach. Donations and grant money helps offset the cost, but it cannot be the “cure all.” Digging in the dumpster, if this type of budget slashing continues, could be another alternative for instructors, but I would personally pursue other alternatives of fund raising first. In other words, there are costs, in my opinion, that cannot be controlled when I examine a school budget. Those items include the cost of utilities, transportation, and consumable supplies and books, which is @ 20% of a schools annual budget.
Please know that I have no idea as to how to keep the cost of a barrel of crude oil from rising, no more than I would know how to control the cost of internet access or textbook publishing. As a shop teacher I have no idea as to how to control the cost of lumber from Canada, in order to teach construction skills to students who plan to pursue that career pathway. However, what I can say, is that teachers across this state are “short changing” students of the necessary skills, because teacher salaries eat up 80% of the district’s budget.
This is unfortunate, since I believe educational programs and students should come first in a long list of priorities. Please know that I have always looked at students in my classroom as if they were my own children, and I only aim to try to improve school programs and not teacher wages and benefits. The trick…..how to do that without generating more revenue (taxes).
I believe I have a few more ideas—-thanks to your comments. One person cannot fix all of the problems, rather, it will take many willing participants. Sorry if I offended any particular group or individual with my ideas, but remember, they were ideas, albeit, lousy ideas for generating a little extra cash for student supplies, since I know for a fact that these supplies have been whittled away over the years due to a number of forseen and unforseen factors.
Sincerely,
Todd Stelzel, Candidate for Wisconsin State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Todd, maybe you should look at our budget. I believe anyone with an appetite to cut a budget could start by eliminaating $15.4 million in reserves and give it back. Also, since the student population has risen 22%, I would hope you could find a way to keep the rising cost the same as the growth, not 60%. Maybe you could eliminate inefficencies like the house-concept. I have a school budget here that bloated by 10.8% this year. Maybe you can tell the people what a tv in every classroom is for, even when the teacher says they do not want one. Oh, there is a lot to cut! Maybe start by eliminating the 3′rd asst. principal at the high school. We need to cut millions. That should not be too tough to do with a $55 million budget here, would it?
Dear Taxmealotmore and others,
Some of the cuts that you mention can be made at your local school district level (ie. the 3rd asst. principal). Encourage others in your communities to attend school board meetings in order to have your concerns addressed and do not give up your convictions.
Finally, please know that I do not want to “revamp” school funding in Wisconsin. I only intend to examine ideas from as many sources as possible, since I do not have the power to generate revenue as State Superintendent. In addition, about “choice of school” (ie. public, private, home school, charter) it is entirely up to the parents of the child to make that decision, which is why I support all of these alternatives/options. Vouchers may be the stick of TNT that allows us to examine carefully educational reform.
I hope that I have clarified my comments.
Sincerely,
Todd Stelzel, Candidate for Wisconsin State Superintendent of Public Instruction
You guys seem to know tons about all this more than me. This thread has informed me very much about things. I have only been following this education tax for around 4 months. I am renting a house before I buy and have taken a carefull look at my taxes I will have to pay before I make a purchase. I have a few questions. It looks as if the Superintendent has no influence over anything. If that is so, why do have this position? And is his job to do what the STATE wants, what the teachers want him to do through citizens voting for him, or what he would want as a teacher belonging to the WEAC? And isn’t this a blatent conflict of interest? How much do taxpayers have to pay for this position?
The salary for this position in 2003 was $107,432. That’s the most current that I could find. Add a couple of 6% raises onto that and you have $120,710. My guess is that is pretty close. Not a bad gig for a shop teacher. I do see that Mr. Stelzel is spending all of his time and creativity dreaming up new ways to drive revenue up. I guess I would like to see some of his creative solutions for driving costs down. I’ll give him three guesses.
I am with you Citizen Jane…good questions!! I do have to say though that I am glad to see Mr. Stelzel on here conversing with us. Open exchange is the first step…something our school board has yet to figure out. Wish some of them would get on here and answer some of our questions!
Thanks ebaybabee, and contributors to this thread. This is the exact reason why I started this site. This is the debate I was looking for. My hats off to you Mr. Stelzel. You are stepping up to the plate to defend your position. That is really all we are asking of our local administrations. They are hiding and obfuscating.
Dear Admin. and Others…..
I appreciate the comments.
In a nutshell…..students, parents, property tax payers, teachers, and even state superintendents are caught between a rock and a hard spot, pitting us against the legislature (the law makers) unfortunately. However, I believe genuine dialog between all willing participants is needed, in order to get us out of this slight mess. In addition, a joint effort is required, in order to come up with a compromise that we all can agree upon.
As state superintendent, I will remind the Wisconsin legislature of this fact on a daily basis, since I consider partisan bickering and idea bashing from both sides to be the root of the problem for public education. Finally, you only need to pay me $70,000 for this job, since this is $30,000 more than I make as a teacher. I believe this to be a fair and comfortable salary for state superintendent. The rest of the cash we will keep in your pocket. Please keep the ideas rolling and the questions flowing.
Sincerely,
Todd Stelzel, Wisconsin Candidate for State Superintendent of Public Instruction