Oak Ridge Today

AC BOE revises budget proposal, 22-cent tax hike would be needed

Posted at
By 6 Comments

Information from WYSH Radio

The Anderson County Board of Education on Tuesday voted to approve a revised budget that, if approved as is, would require the equivalent of a 22-cent property tax increase.

The amended proposal adopted during a special-called meeting Tuesday still asks for 4 percent pay raises for school employees—who have not seen significant salary increases in the past six years—as well as $178,000 to pay for needed school roof repairs and state-mandated upgrades to physical education facilities and $178,000 to start a new program under which students would receive an electronic tablet.

The revised budget proposal includes several cuts to the original proposal, which would have necessitated the equivalent of a 56-cent tax increase. [Read more…]

Guest column: Yes to one device per child, no to property tax increase

Posted at
By 6 Comments

Aditya "Doc" Savara

Aditya “Doc” Savara

By Aditya “Doc” Savara

On June 2, Dr. Bruce Borchers, the superintendent overseeing Oak Ridge Schools, presented a 2015 school budget plan to City Council, which included a request for a property tax increase of about 15 percent. Landlords would presumably pass this increase onto renters as well.

The justification for this tax increase is to pay for thousands of touchscreen tablet computers and notebook computers: one for each child in our school system for most age ranges. The idea is bold and expensive. The revolutionary change is based on the following three premises:

  1. Our children need to be “technology-ready” for the future with sufficient experience to make such technology feel “ordinary” to them.
  2. These devices may have educational benefits in our schools.
  3. When parents are trying to decide where they will live, parents might choose a city that follows a one-device-per-child policy.

I taught at Northwestern University, where I won department-wide and college-wide teaching awards. Based on my teaching experience, I was initially against one device per child, because I did not think such devices would improve learning, certainly not enough to justify such an expense (my experience is that better teachers and better students result in better learning). [Read more…]

Letter: Urge City Council, residents to invest in schools

Posted at
By 28 Comments

Dear members of City Council and fellow citizens:

We are writing this letter in response to the Fiscal Year 2015 budget decisions made during the June 9 Oak Ridge City Council meeting. The Council’s overwhelming vote to maintain property tax rates at the same rate they have held steady at since 2009 may bode well for the short-term pocketbooks of our residents, but the long-term results are disconcerting and disheartening for many.

City Council is alienating the tax base that it needs to nurture. The young professionals, business owners, and families with school-aged children who once flocked to this city but now trickle must be heard by Council. These families have the disposable income to spend in Oak Ridge stores, and will pay the property taxes for decades to come that will keep this city viable. Yet at this Council meeting, our voices were not truly heard.

The argument that we continue to hear is that “our schools have plenty of money” and that the schools “need to learn to live within their budget.” The Oak Ridge Schools have proven that they can do this, but what is the cost of this attitude? How does this foster a strong relationship with not only the schools and their employees, but the families and students? How can the Schools continue to maintain excellence without, at the very least, inflationary and cost of living increases, when really it takes much more? [Read more…]

Guest column: Tax hike will hurt city’s ability to recruit DOE workers

Posted at
By 8 Comments

The Oak Ridge Schools are requesting a substantial property tax increase to fund items they see as essential to their future.

Yet an Oak Ridge tax hike will markedly reduce our city’s ability to recruit new U.S. Department of Energy workers. According to the latest DOE report, Anderson County is losing over $300,000 per week to Knox County in DOE payroll. That loss rate is increasing, and a tax hike would make this serious problem worse.

Unfortunately, our city has a DOE “isolation fence” around it. In most cases, new workers are sent by the DOE system directly to Knox County—mainly to Farragut. And as a result, their important housing decisions are made without talking to an Oak Ridge realtor. They never get an opportunity to find out how wonderful it is to live here.

The new Kroger store won’t affect this uneven playing field. A property tax hike (of any size) will simply make the problem worse—giving Farragut an even greater advantage over us. [Read more…]

Guest column: Oak Ridge Chamber endorses schools’ funding request

Posted at
By 5 Comments

Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce

The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce is pictured above.

Note: This is a copy of a May 30 letter sent to Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan and members of City Council.

Mayor Beehan and members of Council:

The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce has a long-standing tradition of supporting education in our community.

Education is critical in the development of the workforce and is the foundation for a community’s economic vitality.

Our Oak Ridge Schools is an internationally recognized system of excellence and is known for being a leader in new, innovative programs. These educational opportunities, rigor, and performance provided by Oak Ridge Schools have been, and continue to be, the key attraction for new residents to our community. [Read more…]