American dream in Lehighton?

Well said Mr
Schnell, well said.

Yes, people will move! They will move right out of the state! I guess I will go back to that old devil, Property Tax! Paying school property taxes AND day to day living expenses can be most difficult on a fixed income. Often, it is a choice of paying taxes or buying meds and/or affording a doctor's visit. It is a choice of buying food or fuel.

Property Tax elimination is the only answer. What many don't realize about the proposed Property Tax Elimination Bill 76, is that EVERYONE will pay toward education and PA Pensions, not just homeowners. Even people just passing through the state, who buy a product within the state, will pay toward what only homeowners are paying now.
I am not against education or reasonable PA Pensions. I AM against the money for those entities unfairly coming from only one segment of PA's citizenry, namely home owners!!!
Do you, school board members, have empathy for those on a fixed income? How about those who own a home, paid in full, but may lose it to unpaid taxes? Taxes that can't be paid due to loss of or reduction of income? Will you walk in the shoes of those people? Can you possibly work for the betterment and support of those who love Lehighton ; those who want to stay but may be forced out?
A prime question real estate agents hear, is the dreaded: " What are the property taxes like in this community? "
Will you try to understand what your opponents are working to achieve. You board members CAN all become allies if you REALLY can come to understand what the young AND the old want for Lehighton.
Maybe I am naive to believe this; but history is full of mortal enemies aligning to become allies. Common ground was found.
I'll leave it at that thought.

The American dream in this town is gone, people are moving out, the population is lower than ever and the school board doesnt give a $hit about the taxpayers at all. And another thing, you could sell just about any parent on the sports complex before you could sell them on academics which is very sad. After reviewing the bond paperwork it looks like the Lehighton school district will pay in excess of $150,000 per month just in interest alone on the bond for this outlandish spending spree. What could’ve we done with that kind of money in the classroom? I’m guessing epic and amazing things!

The problem now - Franklin elementary because the FTAA is up in arms over christman field because the school will be sold. Too bad these geniuses never thought about that! Looks like they need a “special deal” on that issue. More to follow, but predictions are the school will be given away for next to nothing (like the other schools) another slap in the face of the taxpayers who paid for that school and never wanted it sold in the first place!

This fantastic letter really touches on a multitude of ills. Watching and reading the almost daily drama unfolding in Lehighton is sad and difficult. What is responsible for the Lehighton SD getting to this point? They are facing the same enemy many if not all SDs across the state are facing. The enemy behind the discourse is rapidly rising SD property tax. This voracious monster is stripping money from the taxpayers but far more importantly, it is stealing money from the classroom, from the students faster than it is being replaced in the wallets of the taxpayer. For two decades SD property taxes have risen much faster than inflation and average weekly wage increases. This trend shows no signs to abating, in fact it is accelerating. In laymen’s terms, there is more water leaving the well than coming in. This is obviously unsustainable and slowly bankrupting the taxpayer all across this state. It has directly lead to PA being one of the leading states with regard to out migration. Property taxes are chasing many out of the state and making it much more difficult for our youth to buy homes. Often property taxes exceed the mortgage.

The SD revenue demands on the taxpayer and lack of transparency are directly responsible for the discourse in Lehighton and many SDs all across the state. Every taxpayer in this state has to adhere to a budget, they cannot spend more than they make or bankruptcy is the eventual inevitable outcome. Why should SDs be allowed to ignore the same economic metrics that those that pay the bills CANNOT. Ironically accounting, math, and how to balance a check books are taught in schools. Out of control property tax increases are devastating the taxpayer. They are discriminatory, borderline tyrannical, have created a two tier society of early retirees versus those that have to work at least PT until physically unable or death. Oppressive property taxes directly harm the children by reducing the standard of living of the homes they live in.

The cost drivers are not even openly discussed at SB meeting. There should be 100% transparency of taxpayer money. The SB should be challenged if not required to report how taxpayer money is spent. They should openly share what percentage of taxpayer money is going to fund pension costs, wage and benefit costs, charter school costs, special education costs, and all other funded and unfunded mandates. Why they do not do this as a matter of practice is mind numbing and insulting to the taxpayer.

SB76 has the power to end much of the discourse. It ties school funding increases to an inflation index which is a direct measurement of a person's ability to pay. This is what SBs all across PA need to come to terms with.

Schools have been funding themselves at 2.5 times the rate of inflation for the last 20+ years, yet they, like a deadbeat relative, seem to always be strapped for cash. What about the taxpayers? Maybe the education industry should show some fiscal concern for the communities and the CHILDREN they serve.

As the write indicates, he wants to fix this. Bravo for Mr. Schnell. The practices of many SBs will make this difficult, thus, let this be a rally call for all oppressed taxpayers to support this common sense approach.

Thank you Mr. Schnell for your well thought out and well written letter. You have hit the nail on the head. The population is aging, more and more will have to live on a fixed income. They will have to leave their homes and the community they have lived in all their lives due to the crushing burden of school district taxes. They can either sell or lose their homes to tax sale. But wait, Portnoff will help them get a reverse mortgage! For what, to pay for school taxes due to crushing debt level brought to us by those who do not know how to be fiscally responsible? The current debt will take more than 40 years to pay off, but what happens when the new school needs major renovations in 20 years? More debt. Higher taxes. This is a vicious cycle that will be repeated until the tax base collapses. Who would want to buy a home here with these taxes? Most of the large employers here are retail establishments, when taxes go up there is less money to spend in those establishments. They close down. This too is happening across the state. All due to irresponsible spending by those we elect, both locally and at the state level. Time for a change. If those elected do not want to answer to the taxpayer, don't want to let us know how our money is being spent, do not want transparency and choose to not be fiscally responsible then vote them out. And force those at the state level to pass SB/HB76. There are strong lobby's fighting against this legislation, but the taxpayers outnumber them by far. Stand up and be counted! Speak out! Take back your power and your school districts and your town! These people serve at the pleasure of the taxpayer, not the other way around!