Do we value education?

It's a fact; almost no one likes paying taxes. But we need some way to pay for teachers, policement, and other services that we enjoy. The Austin American Statesman recently did an article on AISD Prop 1, which will raise the property taxes on houses in order to increase the pay for Austin's teachers. (link here: http://www.statesman.com/opinion/content/editorial/stories/10/16/1016schooltaxes_edit.html)
The editorial boards' intended audience are the registered voters of Austin who will be voting on this ballot measure. It is credible, since it is the editorial board of one of the biggest papers in Austin. The argument is sound as well, since they make the point that other school districts are hiring Austin teachers due to the lower pay in Austin. They make the point with figures, including showing how much of the property tax goes to the state, and how much goes to the Ausitn ISD.

I think that paying teachers more is a good thing, and that if the Austin ISD needs to raise taxes in order to pay teachers enough to keep them in the school, then that's what the voters need to do. The right teacher can make an otherwise mundane subject and make it interesting; conversly, an atrocious teacher can take a subject that might be interesting and turn it into the worst subject ever. Since the our future is our children, we need to make sure that they're able to compete with not only children in other states, but also with people around the world. Why can't the school just give the teachers a raise with the money they have, you may ask? Well, the school district has already done a lot to keep within their budgets. They kept it at the bare neccesities, such as maintaining class sizes, operating new schools, and adding programs for gifted and at-risk students. Their budget for the next year was only 1.4% higher than last years; the only way they could do that was to cut spending in areas. They want to increase the tax rate by 3.9 cents per $100 of valuation on houses.

By why should we pay more taxes? After all, property values are rising, which means that the school district should be getting more money, right? Wrong. The district is legally required to send most of the new money to the state under Texas' school financing law. The example the board gives is this; of a house costing $233,324, they would pay $252 more because home values went up. Of that, the Austin district gets to keep $35. The rest goes to the state. And its not like there is no competition for good teachers; Austin's teachers are getting hired out to other districts.

Teachers are integral in pushing students and getting them to discover their potential. Shouldn't we want the best? Do we want to only have the teachers that the other districts don't want? The castoffs? I think the students of Austin deserve better. And hopefully, if the teachers get a raise, they'll get it.