Public schools in this state face any number of problems, from student discipline to staff retention. But, as per usual in the public sphere, the most pressing problem is posed by money.
Pennsylvania school districts fund most of their operations with the often onerous and always unpopular local property tax. Urban and rural schools have dealt with the inequities of that funding for years. Now, as TribLive has noted in recent news stories, so do their suburban counterparts.
School funding as currently configured harbors an inherent vice: The property tax is logically, and systemically, unequal. Higher assessments in affluent districts generate higher revenues, while taxpayers in lower-income areas must cover the shortfalls caused by vacant properties and abandoned storefronts. Senior citizens and lower-income residents often struggle to stay in their homes. No district is immune to aggressive reassessments or economic dislocation. Students are privileged or disadvantaged based on the economic base of their hometowns.
There is a solution: replace the local property tax with a statewide sales and income tax to fund all districts on a per capita student basis. Allow districts to assess a property tax solely to pay bonded debt or fund pensions.
Students would receive equal funding, regardless of their residence. School districts could budget with confidence, regardless of their local economic fortunes.
George Hawdon
Arnold