Why Am I Paying For My Neighbors’ Education?
This time of the year, when I pay our property taxes, I always have to fight the urge to scream! This year my husband and I are paying over $2100 in the form of property taxes directly to the public school systems in two different counties. And that’s just the property taxes. In Florida, school systems also get a share of sales tax, impact fees when building a new house, and of course the lottery. (By contrast, we are only paying $11 for parks and less than $500 for emergency services.) I really resent paying all this money to the school system. All I can think about is what I could do with that $2100 for my own kids this year. People who do not have school-age kids, or those who pay for private school might get equally aggravated. I do not buy the argument that public education is everyone’s burden! I believe that if you brought a child into this world, then you are responsible for that child’s education, not everyone else who dares to own property. And why is it the property owners who bare this burden? Is there a punishment for owning property–You must then make sure everyone gets an education, even if it is a bad one?
There is so much waste in school systems. IMO schools get way more money than they need. The system in Florida is so top heavy and full of bureaucracy and waste. For example, I operate an umbrella school in Florida in which a few homeschooling families are enrolled. We do not have a school building; each family teaches their own children, in their homes. But in our state, umbrella schools are considered private schools just like a traditional brick and mortar school. So I get all of the mail that any school in FL receives. About 10 times a year I receive a huge box that has been overnighted to me, like it is some big emergency, that is full of about 50 full color, very expensive posters that I am suppose to hang up on the walls of my “school” and several hundred color brochures to pass out to my “students.” I can’t even image what the cost of these packages must be. I have called, emailed, and written the school system begging them to stop sending me these boxes, but to no avail.
I don’t think it would be too difficult to determine which property owners have kids in the public school system. These are the families who should be paying this tax. At the very, very least, I should be able to deduct from my taxes the cost of materials I buy educating my own children. It only seems fair, since I am paying for my neighbors’ children’s education. I think that those who pay for private education for their children should also be able to write off tuition costs.
Oops! I think my Libertarianism is showing!
