The Bossier Chamber of Commerce has come out against the $210,000,000 bond issue that the School Board has proposed.
You can read the story at the Press-Tribune.
Bossier voters generally approve these things, but opposition is mounting against this one.
I still hope that the pay raises and technology funding will be approved.
The Chamber has given very good reason to oppose this bond issue. We don't know what is coming down the pike as far as rules from the state is concerned. The BPSB has not included many stakeholders in the planning and has shown incompetence in past projects by not addressing scandals, holding top BPSB officials responsible for screwups, building new schools too small and just not being good stewards of taxpayer money.Throwing more money at problems usually does not fix anything. I do repect your opinion Jim but I am going to vote no on all the bond issues and maybe enough Bossier voters will do so and I hope it sends a message to all the political groups in Bossier that we expect integrity and good stewardship of taxpayer dollars. We pay enough taxes and my hope is taxes will go down in the future. Vote no for any and all new taxes.
ReplyDeleteThe economy is in the tank and looks like there is no recovery in sight. To go a half a billion dollars in debt with this bond proposal is plain nuts. I can not support this even though my wife will benefit from a "pay raise." Even if she did get a pay raise her taxes and insurance would go up and would probably clear $10 more a month.
ReplyDeleteMy spouse works for school system too. Based on their past promises of a 3% raise when class room personnel got nothing and central office all got fat raises we don't believe it. Voting NO.
ReplyDeleteJust read in April 6th's issue of the Bossier Press that Bossier Parish businesses the majority of the tax burden on the BPSB tax. Really? Businesses DON'T absorb costs, they pass them on to the customer, so in the end the tax burden will be on each and every one of us who lives and does business in Bossier Parish. How will Ms. Bailes spin this one?
ReplyDeleteAlso needed to add that the extra costs that are passed on to the customer is a double whammy due to property taxes will, even if they school board will tell you only slightly, will rise as well.
ReplyDeleteIF you rent residential or commercial property in Bossier Parish, then your rent will go up. IF you buy things in Bossier the costs will go up. 500,000,000 is alot to pay back with interest.
ReplyDeletedoesnt the BPSB already get over 50% of the tax dollars? Where's that money been going? I'm a little hesitant on this one!
ReplyDeleteMaybe if some of the Nepotism/Favortism in employment was curtailed I would vote for the raises. Really, nine family members from the Top down of the School system will receive these raises. Could this be a part of the push for raises? I guess we should not be surprised if other family members will work on the Bond projects (if the Bond Proposal is approved). For them the School District is a Gold Mine, were you do not have to dig.
ReplyDeleteDon't have to dig. But we gonna get the shaft!
ReplyDelete6:35, crap, put those names out there. Stir it up!
ReplyDeleteIf we want to give teachers a raise, which I think is a good idea, why does everyone have to have a raise in administration? Why does it have to be an equal percentage all the way to the top? Why not find an affordable dollar figure and give the starting teachers a real raise that will help them and let the fat cats, admin and teachers making over 50K, live on what they are already making. That's a plan we could pay for with the money already being collected in taxes.
ReplyDeleteThe school board's appetite for tax revenue is infinite! There is more waste, fraud, and abuse than you can imagine. Now is the time to send the message that taxpayers are tired of being played for suckers.
ReplyDeleteHopefully none of you that are not supporting the proposals have children who attend or have been educated by the Bossier Parish School System! The bond proposals for the teachers is not about the raise. If teachers were interested in the big bucks, they would have never gone into education in the first place. These bond proposals are, however, and indicator of how valued educators are in our parish. Teachers spend more waking hours with our children. Parents who demand excellence from our schools and teachers should be the first in line to vote yes for all three proposals. Quit throwing education under the bus and expecting teachers to do it all for free! You are an embarrassment to your community if you fail to support a school system that continually allows your community to thrive. How do you think these businessmen got so successful? Could it be a good education? Possibly one from Bossier Parish? I am certain your child's teacher would thank you to take this into consideration...
ReplyDeleteOnce again, it's not a vote against the teachers. It's the school board that people are against. Mainly D.C Machen. They have been irresponsible with money they have given and people don't want to give them more. When they show they can act responsibly then we will be more than happy to vote yes.
ReplyDelete707 your dead on its not about the teachers and they should not be duped into believing it is. The teachers are just like all public employees who are used as a tools against the public to facilitate passage of these things. Many hope to promote the its anti teacher sentiment, only to motivate them to pass all bonds.
ReplyDeleteI would ask that all who support this measure state if you will recieve a benefit from passage of any of these proposal s, whether personal or thru your business.
634 will you recieve a raise from it?
And if you did recive and education in Bossier parish it most likely was in a time when the.system had a.surplus prior to the dc era.
Its offensive as well that one takes credit for all the.success of Bossier, funny I thought it was a combination of our exceptional law enforcement, fire services, dedicated educators, and low taxes. How silly of me to not recognize only one piece is responsible.
Oh and by the way I will not recieve a benefit from passage of these.
1.) The BPSB needs to look at wasteful spending before asking for more money.
ReplyDelete2.) There are way too many support personnel in the parish. Take all those supervisors, graduation coaches, master teachers, and so on from BIC , central office, and Viking drive and put them back in the classroom.
3.) Teachers, paras, and bus drivers are on the “front lines” of education. They deserve hazard pay. A raise across the board should not be voted on…ever…
I was informed that the "powers that be" are selling t-shirts to the personnel on school time to fund their political agenda to pass the tax. CASH ONLY!! Don't worry, the money will never make its way to where it needs to go to buy advertisements, get out the voter calls, etc. It will probably be spent on air conditioners.
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ReplyDeleteA.J., who gives a rat's rip?
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ReplyDeleteThe president of the chamber is truly toxic - she ran her husbands recent campaign in a very negative way and she appears to be doing the same to the chamber - I hope the chamber does not end up in the same position - broke with no friends
ReplyDeleteI'm sure personnel also had to sit and listen during mandatory faculty meeting etc. to the "higher ups" about why it's so important to vote and make relatives vote. They shove it down the employee's throats and hope nobody else shows up to vote.
ReplyDeleteReally? A gold mine? Have you seen the top paid BP employees? I hardly believe even the top paid in the parish have hit the gold mine. Funniest thing I've heard in a while.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't believe in teacher raises, at least think about how a portion of the bond package could actually HELP local business. Many people move to BP for the schools. I can promise you it isn't for the beautiful scenery. Have you driven down Barksdale Blvd lately? When families move here for the schools, local businesses benefit.
They move here for a "C" grade school system? Im still a "no".
ReplyDeleteYes, people are moving here for the schools because they are still some of the best in the state, in spite of the results of the new school performance grading system. The grades are based on the students' scores, which teachers do have an affect on, plus attendance, graduation and drop-out rates - factors controlled by the parents, not the teachers. Schools must also achieve a specific target of progress they are expected to make.Compared to the rest of the state, a "C" is a pretty good grade.
ReplyDeleteSo jim. Rule one for 441 doesnt apply?
ReplyDeleteEducation Organition second group to oppose the school taxes. Read it on the Bossier Press website.
ReplyDeleteHere is that Link
ReplyDeleteTop paid bossier parish employee according to Inquisitor last week is DC at over $171k. This is significantly the highest of any public employee including Bossier Mayor, Bossier Sheriff, DA, tax accessor, or clerk of court. The rest of the top ten In the school system are not far behind.. Many rank and file employees do not support the tax because the were promised 4% pay raise in the past only to see money go to top heavy administration. Many people got ZERO. People are moving here from SHREVEPORT because of white flight. There is no growth in north west Louisiana.
ReplyDelete727 I read thru the bond and.did not see where the funding for the new.hires will comes.from could it be from the.pr omis ed pay raise to existing employees. Also how is the existing deficit going to be paid for? Those facts are deleted from the public.view. No before trying to pay for what we have.lets.create more debt simply brilliant. When these taxes all pile up and you run bussiness out of this town because you have ran the taxes up likecaddo, and you run barksdale off via BRAC because of the ego of one man who will take responsibility?
ReplyDeleteAnd what happens then?
Exactly!! People don't just talk about it go vote!!!!
ReplyDeleteThe pay increases aren't in the bond. There will be three things to vote on : 1. The bond, 2. Prop 1 for pay, Prop 2 for technology.
ReplyDeleteProposition 1:
10 year 9.25 mills property tax for Parishwide School District of the Parish of Bossier, State of Louisiana, for the purpose of giving additional support to public schools by funding salaries and benefits for employees of the Parish School Board of the Parish of Bossier, State of Louisiana.
Jim
ReplyDeleteAt one of the forums this question was asked and the answer was that there was no funding for the new employees to be hired at the new schools. This prop does not cover that. If it does then the math may not look so well.
That's an interesting point. If they are going to do it, they should plan it out completely. It's sort of like building Parkway without athletic facilities or having to add temp buildings at Legacy almost as soon as it opened.
ReplyDeleteJim, the same lack of foresight was there when they built the Benton Middle School - it was supposed to lessen the overcrowding at Benton Elementary School, which it most certainly did not. I would vote for the bond issue if: a)they came up with a decent, well-thought out plan; b)I knew my tax money wasn't going fund students going to private school, as Jindal wants; c) I had any faith at all in Machen and the school board.
ReplyDeleteJim, the same lack of foresight was there when they built the Benton Middle School - it was supposed to lessen the overcrowding at Benton Elementary School, which it most certainly did not. I would vote for the bond issue if: a)they came up with a decent, well-thought out plan; b)I knew my tax money wasn't going fund students going to private school, as Jindal wants; c) I had any faith at all in Machen and the school board.
ReplyDeleteJim, the same lack of foresight was there when they built the Benton Middle School - it was supposed to lessen the overcrowding at Benton Elementary School, which it most certainly did not. I would vote for the bond issue if: a)they came up with a decent, well-thought out plan; b)I knew my tax money wasn't going fund students going to private school, as Jindal wants; c) I had any faith at all in Machen and the school board.
ReplyDeleteDC also makes more than District Judges. The only public official that makes more than DC at $171k is Congressman Fleming at $174. Before we are asked to sacrifice, he should also. Also, with all of this growth in Bossier, there should be more money coming in from a higher tax base (same rate x more property and more folks and bigger homes and business). What's up with that??
ReplyDeleteI am not from Bossier Parish, but I have studied many school tax proposals including this one. Interestingly, the comments on these types of forums are almost always the same. Most oppose the tax proposal and justify their opposition with little in the way of factual information. They cite fraud, abuse, maleficence, nepotism, etc. as their reasoning, but do not include actual detailed accounts of anything. They are simply repeating the negative opinions of others. If they would only investigate the matter for themselves, their concerns might be relieved. Do your own research. People love to believe the worst. Don't make that mistake. Get your own answers directly. Then make your decision. Good Luck!
ReplyDeleteAnon 9:42, if you were from Bossier Parish, you would know that we have done our own research, we have eyeballs that have seen the fraud, malfeasance, abuse, nepotism, etc., we have ears that have heard their lies and lame excuses, we have brains to realize how poorly planned the whole tax proposal is, and we have hearts that tell us not to trust this school board and superintendent to use our hard-earned taxpayer money wisely.
ReplyDeleteAnon 9:42, if you were from Bossier Parish, you would know that we have done our own research, we have eyeballs that have seen the fraud, malfeasance, abuse, nepotism, etc., we have ears that have heard their lies and lame excuses, we have brains to realize how poorly planned the whole tax proposal is, and we have hearts that tell us not to trust this school board and superintendent to use our hard-earned taxpayer money wisely.
ReplyDelete742 thats funny, lets see there was fraud with the last projects in the.school system and people went to jail, dc in writing.answered a question to the bossier press that new employees salary was not included in bond and.proposal s and would comes from general fund which already operates at a deficit.
ReplyDeletewhich one of thosefacts are not true? If you havnt lived in bossier I can see how you may not would know these things, perhaps you should do a little research before you weight in. Also 742 will you gains anything from this such as a payraise or business from passage?
http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20120417/OPINION0106/120417029/Republican-group-not-supporting-Bossier-school-propositions
ReplyDeletegood article
Got it, hadn't seen that one yet
ReplyDelete9:42 is the most intelligent commenter thus far during this entire bond proposal!
ReplyDeleteThey wanted me to vote for the school board tax proposals. I voted No! No! No! (Apologies to the late Amy Winehouse.)
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