School district proposals won’t improve student performance, teacher pay

Voters will be asked to decide two critical education issues on Tuesday. Question 2 asks the voters for permission to borrow $217 million in bonds to finance school projects while question 3 seeks to raise the sales tax by 1 percent for 10 years.

We urge you to vote “no” on both questions.

Not one penny of this money will be used to improve students’ academic performance nor will it be used to pay teachers more or hire more reading specialists. All of the proceeds have to be used for capital projects only — bricks and mortar.

The school districts’ enrollment projections do not support an immediate need for new schools or additions. In the next five years, school capacity will continue to exceed enrollment on both Hilton Head Island and Bluffton. Projecting beyond five years as to what might happen is not a conservative approach.

The district claims there will be 3,000 new students over the next 10 years. Where are all the jobs that will attract these families with school-age children? Bluffton is a fast-growing area, but we believe that much of the growth will be in the form of retirees who are not bringing school-age children here.

On the issue of cost, the school district claims that you will experience a 42 percent property tax reduction. But the actual ballot language specifies no such reduction. Ask yourself this question: when was the last time that a governmental agency supported a tax increase (1 percent sales-tax hike for 10 years) to save you tax dollars? It sounds like a typical Washington, D.C., plan to us.

The sales tax is a regressive tax that impacts the poor and those on fixed incomes the most. You pay a sales tax on critical items such as soap, pet food, paper products, school supplies, clothing and car repairs. In addition, you pay sales tax on your phone bill and cable TV bill.

The list of school projects on the ballot does not include specific costs of each project. After doing our homework, we have concluded there’s a lot of pork included on the list. The two most egregious examples are the $4.4 million for a second gymnasium at Whale Branch Early College High School in case the basketball team makes the playoffs and $1.4 million for two air-conditioned hot dog concession stands. These and other examples have nothing to do with student enrollment growth. They are included simply to buy votes.

Finally, there’s the issue of trust. Trust in the superintendent and the school board has been shattered because of the nepotism scandal and the school board’s lack of oversight. Superintendent Jeff Moss pleaded guilty to two ethics violations and was fined by the State Ethics Commission after the hiring of his wife to a $90,000-a-year job. Yet the majority on the school board imposed no negative consequences.

Vote “No” and send a message to this school board that until public trust has been restored, you are not going to put more money in its hands.

This story was originally published November 3, 2016 at 2:41 PM with the headline "School district proposals won’t improve student performance, teacher pay."