School tax is needed to shore up state budget

It’s quite the rage these days to be anti-tax.

But not all taxes are equal. Take, for example, a recent Wayne County Public School-sponsored tax to raise an extra 1.9 mills on the property tax rolls. The proposal must first be approved by a few more school boards before voters will get a chance to weigh in on it.

Last week, the Hamtramck School Board approved the tax question. If the tax proposal gets enough support from county public school boards, it will likely be on the August ballot.

If approved, Hamtramck is line to receive over $900,000 a year for the next five years – the life of the proposed tax. We also support this tax.

However, not all school boards in the county are behind it. Livonia’s school board is among several that rejected the notion of allowing voters to decide on the issue. Livonia board members said that instead of relying on an extra tax, the state Education Department needs to get its fiscal house in order.

It’s a “structural” issue within the state budget, critics say.

You bet it’s a structural issue. Tax collections have drastically dropped off because of the massive number of businesses that have gone under and the number of people who lost their jobs. That has lead to less revenue for the state’s public education program.

With less money coming in, the only way for our government to continue to provide services is to raise taxes. You can’t have decent roads, bridges and schools without investing in them.

Unless we want to become a third world nation, taxpayers are going to have to bite the bullet and pitch in.