Ketterhagen says tax hike goes against district profile
By Jennifer Eisenbart
Staff Writer
The Burlington Area School District approved its preliminary budget Monday night at its monthly meeting, but not without a few words of dissent from one of the more vocal members of the board.
Phil Ketterhagen, who has opposed any increases in the tax levy and has been a proponent for staff paying a portion of their health insurance premiums, read from a prepared list of talking points before the vote.
Ketterhagen pointed to the facts provided in the previous week’s presentation on test scores – showing that about 39 percent of district students are on free or reduced cost lunches – and the district’s free lunch program at Waller as evidence that the poverty level in the district has risen.
“Now this School Board is wishing to approve a preliminary 2013-14 school budget which has a 1 percent tax levy increase,” said Ketterhagen. “This math does not compute for me.
“We claim a high poverty rate and yet want to tax the citizenry more.”
The School Board approved the preliminary budget by a vote of 5-2, with the no votes coming from Ketterhagen and Roger Koldeway. Koldeway did not raise any objections in discussion at the meeting, but has agreed with Ketterhagen in the past on staff paying a portion of their premiums and that the district should hold to a zero percent tax increase.
The budget is currently marked preliminary, and will likely stay that way for at least a few more weeks as the state budget process is completed and final state aid estimates begin to make their way to various school districts.
Currently, the preliminary budget is being based on the following assumptions:
• An approximate 1 percent tax levy increase, for a total revenue increase of about $220,000 in tax money;
• A decrease in general fund expenditures to about $37.64 million;
• An assumption of a 1 percent increase in staff wages;
• State aid remaining steady at $14.53 million.
Preliminary indications from the state show that districts could be receiving a per pupil increase of state aid, but whether that will come in the form of a raised revenue cap or actual state aid remains to be seen.
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Phil makes so much sense. I wish the rest of board could wake up and smell the coffee. The rest of the working force in the world today has been chipping in for years. This is how buisness works now. Get a clue the rest of you!!!
All Phil is a troublemaker, always has been, always will be. My educated guess is he will be out at the curb when his time comes up!!!
I don’t think the extra dollars a month towards the property taxes will impact my lifestyle that much, and it is a small price to pay for another child’s education considering that my children will never use the public school system in Burlington due to them attending parochial schools. I have no problem paying a little more. Good schools are key to a healthy and innovative community, and their benefit is best measured by their graduates success farther on down the road. The school district has made it clear to me that they are being good stewards of our tax dollars, and if someone feels otherwise they can always vote accordingly in the school board elections. Rudeness and name calling reflects poorly on the democratic process and the principles upon which our country was founded.
I completely agree with you Jack. We moved into the district in part because of the strong schools that are here. Our schools continually do more with less, and at some point we will get less. It’s a logical consequence.
Why does the local newspaper insist on perpetuating false or misleading information. While Ketterhagen’s statements last Monday are a matter of record, this issue of employee insurance was not. Nothing was mentioned in Monday’s meeting on the issue so why even bring it up. Are we just trying to stir the local sentiment pot?
Secondly, as stated in the paper over and over this is not a free lunch to any school employee. Half pay do pay a portion of their premium and the other half pay huge out-of-pocket deductibles. Why does the paper continue to insist that the teachers are getting something for nothing when in fact they are getting the exact same deal as many others in private industry.
Lastly Ketterhagen and Koldway voted for the last plan for insurance plan. Ever they get it. It’s time the Standard Press gets it!
Mr. Ketterhagen, how many people living in poverty do you think are worried about their PROPERTY TAX bill? Will they risk losing their estate in Shiloh Hills or perhaps their country home on Ketterhagen Road? The road out of poverty is through education and it needs to be paved by those of us who an afford the few extra dollars a month to help our fellow citizens. BASD used to follow the ideal that “It takes a whole community to raise a child.” I sure wish the Burlington community would return to that. Instead we continue to nickel and dime ourselves into mediocracy. Those of us who have, Mr. Ketterhagen included, need to do more for the rest of our community who have not. The easiest and most cost effective way to do that is to invest in public education. Train people for future employment and help them out of poverty.
Well said.
Another key to fight Poverty? Don’t Attract them here in the 1st place.. They come Like Bees to Honey.. Look at your Local Businesses for paying Lower wages and purposely recuriting more to come and work for them..Don’t expand Lower Income Housing or Trailer Parks . You keep expanding them? They will Come.. In my Day? We Considered anything we got for Free as a Loan and we paid it back.. Voluntarially.. I’d Like to read about how those in the past got their Education, Meals School Supplies etc. for Free and how they Repaid it back yrs later… To Set the Example for the future children ….
That’s How we Learned.. and it Created more Pride and Dignity for both those Kids and their Parents as well..
“They come like bees to honey..” Local businesses paying lower wages is “honey”? Is Walmart a “local business”?
Poor people generally lack the time and means to research where best to relocate let alone to actually pack up and move away from their friends and families.
So poor Americans and their children should live in other communities? Their students should go to other schools? Maybe we could just sweep these kind of citizens under the rug and pretend they’re not there. What could go wrong!?
Actually I think our current economic and political system is pretty darn good at generating poor people insitu.
Mr. or Mrs. Ketterhagen will always have a prepared statement to read out loud at every school board meeting. That is how they keep their agenda published in the paper. Last Monday, when Mr. Ketterhagen read his prewritten statement it had almost nothing to do with the budget. It was a HUGE stretch to connect true poverty with property taxes in the way that he presented it. Even he got all tangled up with the meaning as he read it.
Does anybody ever look at the parents of the kids getting free and reduced lunch? Pulling into school in Escalades and Tahoe’s talking on their IPhones. Not the kids fault their parents are scamming the system.
Will, you have been eating too many happy meals. You need to consume more protein to replace your diminished brain cells. Your comments are totally wrong.