Thursday, March 1, 2012

Hidden Public School Tuition

Lest home or private school parents think that the performance of the public schools is not their issue, consider the following.

From property taxes on $100,000 assessed valuation, $928.06 (65.82%) goes to the Little Rock School District. That means every $300,000 home is paying $2,784.18 annually in property taxes to the district.

From personal property taxes on $1,000 assessed valuation, $46.72 (65.82%) goes to the Little Rock School District. That means every $300,000 home is paying approximately $116 annually in personal property taxes to the district.

That's $2,900.18 every year for a combined $142,699,808 from local sources. And that doesn't include your contributions from the state's sales and income taxes which total $115,221,936 annually. While we're at it, don't forget your federal income taxes, which provide $80,757,150 a year.

Even if your kids weren't, aren't or won't be in the Little Rock School District, as a citizen, property owner and taxpayer, you have a responsibility to hold our elected officials accountable for their performance (or lack thereof) in the governance and results of the $340,000,000 public school district.

By the way, that equates to $13,600 per student, far higher than most any private school Pre-K through 12 tuition in the region. But in the case of the Little Rock School District, you don't get what you pay for.