Property Taxes ... How Much are yours

[EddieWalker]

Scotty,

Nice post.

I don't have any direct experience with any school districts, and most of what I've heard is fairly removed.

Two things that I do know and can relate support my view of schools and unions. A mechanic that I know casually got a job working at the school district. He was self employed before this, but wasn't making enough on his own to stick with it. His first day there, he was pulled aside and told that he better slow down and stop making everyone else look bad.

There are coaches for high school football that make six figure salaries. I might understand this with our bigger schools, and even the ones that make it to State or win State, but the one I'm talking about only wan two games that year and one game the year before. In two years, he won a total of three games and was being paid over $100,000 a year!!!!!!!

Eddie

 

[ultrarunner]

Here is a timely Wall Street Journal link:

Calls Grow to Cap Property Taxes - WSJ.com

 

[LBrown59]

What I hate about property taxes is I paid for my renters kids education while at the same time i don't have any kids.
Another thing People who don't own property or pay real estate taxes are permited to vote for property tax increases.

 

[dmccarty]

The WSJ has a little article every week where the compare three similar properties usually in the US. The list the location, size, cost, expenses and taxes. A place in NYC might have 10,000+ in property taxes PLUS maintenence fees. A similar property in a smaller city in the midwest would per $1,000.

I like this little article to see how much people are willing and able to pay in taxes PLUS other expenses. The properties are not just mansions and loft condos in the big city but 1500 sf houses. The dispartiy in taxes and expenses is interesting.

The county we used to live in buses kids around based on how much money the family makes. Everyone knows its raced based busing but the school board uses income as the official reason. Over the last 8 years or so the board has taken in two offerings of hundreds of millions of dollars in bonds. I don't know where the money is going. I went looking one day to try to find the money but I never did. My guess is that the cost of running those buses all over the county is costing a fortune. They sure had the line item for the cost of busing hidden. Many kids can't go to the school just down the street. Now the board is pushing for year round schools. If you put your children in a year round school they will try to place the child in a school near your home. If you are in a traditional school year you don't really know where the child will go to school.

The board has been in court over the year round school issue.

We put our kids in a Charter school and then moved out of the county as fast as we could get our country house built. The new county seems to be in better control of the schools and expenses.

Later,
Dan

 

[mjarrels]

I have issues on where some of my tax $ are spent... Local College (James Madison University) head football coach hired his son as an assistant football coach (taking big $ pay) Son has two DWI convictions and last car wreck put him in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Whole thing stinks of inapropriate hiring!

mark

 

[Dargo]

I have issues on where some of my tax $ are spent... Local College (James Madison University) head football coach hired his son as an assistant football coach (taking big $ pay) Son has two DWI convictions and last car wreck put him in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Whole thing stinks of inapropriate hiring!

mark

My son goes to school just down the interstate a bit from you in Lexington. I'm paying more than what my property taxes cost me to have him go to school there. I wonder what VMI is doing with all their money? They sure don't have any high dollar coaches that I'm aware of! The students literally live in about the least expensive housing possible; barracks. Hot dang it, this tax and tuition thing is killing me!

 

[milkman]

And why are we at this point.
I was driving in the upper part of the state and heard of a town that wanted to get a 1M $ bond to put astro turf on the soccer field , don't know if they passed it .
The next town over has a late bus so that kids that have detention or play sports can get a ride home 20 mi round trip 6 kids on bus.
no matter how much money you throw at the school system it dosn't get any better they just want more and more.

And a hefty chunk to increase the size of the parking lot for the Mustangs and the convertibles for the kiddies that are too good to ride the half empty busses.

 

[Bird]

I went looking one day to try to find the money but I never did. My guess is that the cost of running those buses all over the county is costing a fortune. They sure had the line item for the cost of busing hidden.

Dan, we used to have "bookkeepers". In fact, one of my grandfathers was a bookkeeper. About all you really needed to know was how to read, how to write legibly, especially numbers, and how to add and subtract; pretty simple and anyone could look at the books and know exactly how the company or organization was doing. Of course, now with computers, you wouldn't even need to write legibly.

So what do we do now? We send'em to college to learn to be "accountants". That's another name for someone who learned to juggle numbers so that no one has any idea what's going on; usually including the accountant.

 

[Sigarms]

Local College (James Madison University) head football coach hired his son as an assistant football coach (taking big $ pay)

I wonder what VMI is doing with all their money? They sure don't have any high dollar coaches that I'm aware of!

James Maddison has a much better football program than VMI. I could be wrong, but the bigger the draw from the spectators and marketing(having a direct relationship on the revenue created by that particular sport), the bigger the salary for the coach/coaches of that sport.

Whole thing stinks of inapropriate hiring!

Can't say I disagree with you, however, there is more than one coach at some "big name" football colleges that have their son/sons on their coaching staff.

Hot dang it, this tax and tuition thing is killing me!

How does the "school loan" work now a days? Do they still have VEAP for veterans?

 

[scott_vt]

Scotty,



There are coaches for high school football that make six figure salaries. I might understand this with our bigger schools, and even the ones that make it to State or win State, but the one I'm talking about only wan two games that year and one game the year before. In two years, he won a total of three games and was being paid over $100,000 a year!!!!!!!

Eddie

Good Afternoon Eddie,
We have three vice principals working at our local high school all making in excess of $100,000/yr. On any given morning just prior to the first bell for class they are in the school parking lot directing traffic for all those lads and lassies that are driving to school !!!

I would glady direct traffic for much less !