Another levy may be needed for local schools

Yes another levy and another chance to stick it to the homeowners.

Why not do what the base did and cut your budget about 20%, cut the waste you might say.

Start by turning out the lights at night and not watering when it is raining. Then cut some administration jobs and cut the top admin pay.

Live within a budget, cut back as everyone else has had to do.

Enrollment is down so should the budget expecially in our current financial situation as a country.

Why is that MHSD always seems to be asking for an emergency levy for one thing or another? Other districts in the state have to be in the shape financial boat as MHSD but we don't hear about them asking for a levy. Or maybe I just missed it on the news.

Junkyard, I respectfully disagree. I drove my north over the last few months and light where on after 9pm almost every night.

Watering is an issue, I understand the fields need water but do like the base did and replace some of the grass with landscaped rock. Guess what high schools in other dry areas do, they don't have to water the rocks.

Enrollment is down but the SD still screams for more. When you have 2 administrators making over 90K each in a small place like this then people are still over paid. I'm not talking about the teachers but for what the admin does they are making out like bandits.

I do believe the SD still has land they could sell that is just sitting there and use that money to fix the roof.

Lets get rid of the Pork. If the district needs money, then why are they spending over $1500 a month on cell phones and a couple hundred a month at Paul's. Any why are we paying $1600/mo to rural telephone company. Is this the internet for the entire district or just for the pine school. Perhaps the district should begin explaining some of these charges and justifying them.

I think they need to take a look at the schoolbus program and who is paying for it. Why are my taxes being used to bring your children to school, if you choose to live 5,10,15 or 20 miles from the schools then you should be responsible for the cost of transportation. Busing should only be provided for special needs kids, school activities and students from the base(federal funded). If busing falls under purchased services in the school budget then you have 3.8 million dollars to work with.

I agreed that the fields needed water.

As for the land, the SD has to pay taxes on it every year. Lets sell it and save money every year on the taxes as well as get a little of money from land we won't use.

As for the tax payer not being abused by this SD, either your new here or just don't want to see it. Most people remember the Bond issue for the High School that do to incompetence is the JR High School. They also have a lot of places they can cut back as I and everyone else has had to do. Most people are at a breaking point and the SD needs to cut like everyone else.

Levy for this and Levy for that from the SD. Guess you didn't attend the meetings for the new housing projects near the Stage Stop. The SD agreed to build multiple schools for the new sub division; guess who is going to have to pay for them. The SD didn't advertise the fact they support this.

The comment about school buses caught my attention, especially in light of what I saw last week. One afternoon last week I stopped at the corner on N18E and Beaman, and at that moment there were four buses visible on those two streets. Four buses covering a fairly rural part of town? Would be curious about how those routes are apportioned and the loads for each.

Hey old guy,

Boise,Nampa, Caldwell, and vallivue are all asking for levies, guess you don't read regional news.

Yes, get rid of buses, and students who are only making failing grades should go too, they are just wasting taxpayer money. in fact anyone living on base or outside of city limits should be barred from our schools, that would save money. Making the students wear coats and turn off the heat would cut costs. Get rid of all athletics, reading writing and math should be the only subjects taught, everything out the window, and class ratio 50:1 will be just fine. All administrators and all but one principal - gone, I think one k-12 school would be fine, let's butcher it all.

In fact if we just get the students to ride horses to school or walk, that would solve a lot, in my day we walked twelve miles to school in three feet of snow, wrote on slate, and the classroom temperature in the winter was 22 degrees. We also eat a piece of bread with a slab of lard, kids have it way easy, regression is the new progression.

IdahoGeek52, over dramatic much? Some people are pointing out places in the budget that can be cut back or eliminated, we are not suggesting stopping education all together.

I don't think it is to much for the tax payer to ask for a little responsiablity from the SD when it comes to the budget.

The SD has a history of waste when it comes to taxpayer money.

Enrollement is down but they still want more in this still terriable economy. I know people who an extra 100 dollars a year would mean the end of them being a homeowner.

The SD has land they can sell and then not have to pay taxes on every year.

They can cut back on utility dollars by turning off lights and watering only essential areas.

They can quit hiring EXTRA administrators like the extra vice principle for a small school. Let's consolidate the admin positions and put some of the money toward the teachers and the buildings.

Do we really need a Super that makes over 90K a year for this small of a community? I'm sure we could get someone qualified to do the job for 70K a year. I know a lot of people that took pay cuts just to keep a job. Three years ago my pay was cut by 35% due to cutbacks. It was either take the pay cut or find another job. With the unemployment still way up there I'm sure that we would have a long list of people willing and qualified to do the job.

People are comming up with ideas to cut the waste and trim the programs to make them better, not eleminate everything.

When you fly off with cut everything people won't take you seriously.

I would not mind supporting a levy IF:the money goes into the classroom for books and other neccessities to help teach our students. I do not support a levy for school buses, teachers wages and un-necessay stuff that my taxes that I am already paying should cover if the funds are properly managed. We need people running these schools to be a little more inventive with subject matter and stick to the 3R's

Talk about overly drastic trouble 2011, you actually want me to believe you lost 35% of your pay? I would like proof, who ya working for and how do you survive taking that kind of cut, on a 30,000 dollar a year income that is a 10,500 dollar cut. If that happened then you are describing the exact reason why we need unions in this country. If I lost that much income in one year I would not be able to keep my house or car, I'd be living in a cardboard box.

Idahogeek,

I won't get into my personnal financial situation but I have a wife that works, I didn't buy a house I couldn't afford, and I haven't had a new car since 1988. I try to be responsiable with my money; something the SD doesn't seem to get.

Trouble2011

How much did the MHSD pay in property taxes last year? or how much did they pay in taxes on the 2 pieces of property your speak about?

cantjustwatch

http://accountableidaho.com/index.php/payrolls/school-payroll/

Richard Mckenna Charter High avg $41,799

If you really want to get happy...go to the MHSD web under Board and see what taxpayer items/MHSD Wood Shop items will be sold at auction---check out the opening bids and the photos. Granted, they are only opening bids and probably NOT what items will be sold for (or so I would like to think anyway) but take a look. Yep, we "need" another levy...like I need a pair of Gucci shoes to wear out to the barn!

Lvemtnhome,

It doesn't matter if it is $1.00 or a million dollars, what matters is the SD isn't doing EVERYTHING they can to keep costs down in this economy.

The SD hasn't even tried to cut the waste, all they do is complain about the sky falling and children not being able to read and write.

There is a lot of things to save money, some might only save a few dollars. But the big thing is those dollars add up over time.

Trouble

You may want to look up Idaho Tax code and see who is exempt from paying property tax.