Lakewood Mayor Ray Coles responds to your ‘Ask The Mayor’ questions: Follow-up about Taxes

The following is an ‘Ask The Mayor’ question submitted to TLS, and the Mayor’s response. Email your questions for the Mayor to [email protected].

Question:

Dear Mayor Coles:

Just as a follow up to the question about taxes.

So 50% of every dollar goes to schools. In Lakewood, since there are a strong  majority that send to private schools, shouldn’t that alleviate budget funding. Or in other words, which institutions get those funds?
Response from Mayor Coles:

It is not that simple. There are many mandated items that private school students receive from the district. The 2 biggest line items that affect the local tax payer are busing & Special Education services.

Ray

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6 COMMENTS

  1. …but we’re not getting normal bussing? I feel like were just going in circles here! What happened to the good old days of bussing- on time, professional and efficiently run??

  2. The “good old days” didn’t have hundreds of private schools, hundreds of thousands of residents, and tens of thousands private school students to bus.

  3. Those people are paying taxes as well.

    I wasn’t around in the good old days. I’m paying almost 15k in property taxes and don’t have buying.

  4. To common sense, I think the taxes are higher because there is more demand for service and there are fewer taxpayers, properties claiming exemption from taxes, so you have to make up for it, like trash collection from the private schools, but the Board of Ed hires a private contraction to pick up trash, little things like that add up.

  5. To Traffic Problems – that is a totally false but often repeated myth, to say there are fewer taxpayers because more properties are claiming tax exemptions. BALONEY!! There are way, way more properties paying taxes than the relatively small percentage claiming tax exemptions. While it’s true that the increased number of houses means more municipal services that are required, don’t throw in the false narrative that there are fewer taxpayers due to exemptions. Simply not true.

  6. There is no question that money is mismanaged!

    There is also no question that it is wrong that private school children are not funded just like public school children
    A child is a child!!!!

Comments are closed.