Imagine visiting the only restaurant in town. Upon entering that restaurant, you order your favorite meal. You notice the service isn’t so good, but your mind is set on the meal. Then, imagine getting your meal, and as you look at it, it looks bad, it’s not appetizing, and furthermore, it’s not even what you ordered. Then, when you try to send it back, the waitress is rude and refuses to take it back. To add insult to injury, not only are you forced to pay for it, but the waitress is expecting a tip. In this scenario, you at least have the option of not going back to the restaurant.
Now imagine this scenario: You have a school district that’s $900,000 in the hole. The reason is because you have students who refuse to attend school and a number of teachers and teacher assistants that have excessive absences. Now, to add insult to injury, you, as the taxpayer, are going to be forced to pay an increase in your taxes to make up for the students who don’t show up and the teachers and teacher assistants who don’t come to work.
On top of all of that, those teachers who don’t show up are given an extra $1,000 “tip” on their salaries.
While options for a meal make the first scenario a rarity, the second scenario is the one that should frighten us all. Why? Because it is the truth.
That type of behavior, in most cases, would lead to that business going out of business. But sadly, the same is not true with school districts.
Last Tuesday, I attended a public hearing about the proposed 7 percent increase in ad valorem taxes to fund the 2015-2016 budget of the Leflore County School District. An advocate for education, parent and taxpaying citizen, I looked forward to hearing about the improvements planned for the district as a result of the increase in taxes.
I also realized that the proposed increase in taxes is not to fund improvements in the district; the increase is to replace nearly $900,000 the District is losing because of student absenteeism.
In the words of contemporary language, “I felt some type of way!” I could not believe that taxpayers are being asked to dig deeper into their pockets to fund services for students who are not in school and to pay teachers who don’t come to work.
There’s no doubt that the Robert Strebeck administration inherited its fair share of challenges.
It is no secret that our schools have been chronically underfunded by the state of Mississippi. It is also no secret that taxpayers have the responsibility of filling in the gaps left by inadequate funding.
What was a “secret” (information unknown to the public) is the decrease of 213 students in the average daily attendance over a two-month period last year, the number of parents who cannot be reached to discuss the truancy of their children, and the number of people employed in the district who do not come to work.
We should not dare punish those who are committed to their jobs and their profession — those teachers and staff members who arrive at work at least an hour before their schedule demands to make sure that students who arrive early are safe and kept out of harm’s way.
I am well-aware that there are students who come to school daily — some who receive perfect attendance for the entire school year — ready and eager to learn. They should not be punished.
But, just as these two groups should not be punished, those who don’t do what they’re supposed to do should not be rewarded. An increase in our taxes would be just that: a reward for people who are negligent in their duties.
How, then, do we fairly address the issues that are negatively impacting school funding?
First of all, we acknowledge that this is not a black issue or a white issue. It is a right or wrong issue.
Parents whose children do not attend school regularly ought to shoulder the burden and the blame. If their students don’t attend as required and miss unexcused days, require Saturday school for the parents and the students. If the parents receive public assistance, tie their assistance to the attendance rates of their child or children.
Teachers whose absences exceed the number of days allowed for unexcused and/or undocumented reasons should be featured on the front page of the Commonwealth. Let the community and the taxpayers hold them accountable for not fulfilling their responsibilities.
I wouldn’t dare claim that I have all the right answers, but there has to be a deeper, community-wide discussion to address the problems that prompted the proposal for a tax increase.
• Troy D. Brown Sr. is a contractor with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the father of a student in the Leflore County School District.
