Spin knows no end when it comes to levy

The spin knows no end when it comes to justifying the need for the upcoming levy. Mr. John Bagwell argues that without it our schools will deteriorate, starting a chain reaction culminating in plummeting property values and economic malaise. I believe we already have the malaise, but it’s the first time I’ve heard it associated with school levies.

Yes, real estate agents like to point to good schools as a selling point. Also to low property taxes!  Which is unmentionable here because our taxes just keep going up, property and otherwise. The extra 1 percent sales tax last year for the benefit of the schools didn’t do the stated trick of preventing levies; we now pay a 6 percent sales tax and the levies just keep on coming.

As for the quality of our schools — I’m glad you brought it up.  In a recent Daily Bee, one read that the National Council on Teacher Quality gives Idaho a D-minus in teacher quality. Apparently we’re doing a poor job of retaining effective teachers and getting rid of ineffective ones. To our immense relief, we’re not the only ones; the average for all 50 states is a D plus, begging the question of what our taxes and levies are accomplishing.

These are tough economic times, with lots of people on fixed incomes forced to tighten their belts for a while to get through it. For the LPOSD to try to foist another levy on us under these circumstances is beyond audacious — it’s unseemly.

ANITA PERRY

Sandpoint