Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Why the CCSD School Board Is a Joke

More amusing tales from the Charleston County School Board's meeting: [See Board to Seek 6-year Sales Tax Hike for the full effect.]
  • Nancy McGinley's staff increased its estimate of how much money the sales tax would bring per year; the Board then decided on the basis of the estimate that six would be better than eight years. Maybe we could come up with a higher estimate and have the tax for two.

  • The School Board is grateful to the Chamber of Commerce for volunteering to manage the campaign for a sales tax. 'Nuff said.

  • The Board entertained the results of "a survey by the Joseph P. Riley Jr. Institute for Livable Communities at the College of Charleston that attempted to gauge voter support for a tax increase. Results showed voters preferred a sales tax hike to a property tax increase. It didn't ask whether voters preferred a five- or eight-year plan." And I'll bet there was no category for "none of the above" either.
They're determined to ram a tax through while they still have a majority of turkeys on the Board. I say, vote down the sales tax because you know it will last at least six years. The turkeys will then hit you with a property tax increase.

Vote them out. It won't take six years.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

What's all this about if we don't vote for the sales tax, then we automatically get a property tax increase? Unless the board votes for a tax increase there isn't one. The only people who say this is automatic are the news anchors (who hang on Elliot Smelie's every word) and certain individual board members (who are known to believe whatever Nancy McGinley tells them). Any board member who votes to raise property taxes without first calling for a complete audit of the books should be driven from the board. Don't vote for any candidate who doesn't support an audit. No audit...no tax.

Anonymous said...

Is this really an inevitable choice between a sales tax increase and a property tax increase? Wouldn't a property tax increase also have to be approved by the voters?

Anonymous said...

I want to see Monday's CCSD meeting on TV. Usually I find these meetings on the public access channel (whatever it's called), channel 60 on Comcast.

Does anyone know when it comes on?

Anonymous said...

I think Comcast runs the CCSD meeting replays at 3pm and at either 6pm or 8pm. Expect cuts and for editing because of the length of some meetings. Not sure who decides what stays and what goes. It's better than nothing but then look what we have to work with. Too bad they don't record the committee meetings or we might have caught Gregg Meyers admitting he used a fake address (his downtown law office) to get his kids into Buist Academy using a downtown resident slot. A fly doesn't live long enough to effectively be a fly on these walls.

Anonymous said...

"...Gregg Meyers admitting he used a fake address (his downtown law office) to get his kids into Buist Academy using a downtown resident slot..."

If you have a source for this allegation and any relevent documentation, I would submit a complaint to the federal Office of Civil Rights. If this is true, it's flat-out cheating and/or fraud and minority CCSD kids were probably disproportionately affected. Here's the link:
http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/howto.html?src=rt

Anonymous said...

There is a source and a date for the meeting in which he made the statement. It will be even more interesting to see how the board and the administration handles the Berkeley County student scheduled to enter AMHS this fall in light of that statement...now that it's getting out.

Babbie said...

1:57 poster--does that student live on Daniel Island?

Anonymous said...

Based on what I understand, the student in question now lives on Daniel Island. There was some question about placing property in Charleston County in the student's name or the name of the parent in order to claim residency. I'm not aware of how that has turned out. I'll let you know if I hear differently. "Knowledge is power." and "The truth will make you free."

Anonymous said...

"Knowledge is power." and "The truth will make you free."

... or at least I still hope so.