Thank taxpayers, too

Now that the two-year school levy has passed and emotions have calmed, it is a good time to reflect on our predicament.

It seemed I could not go anywhere without being instructed to “Be Brave!” Forcing only one third of our district’s citizens to foot the bill for top-heavy levy and bond measures brings many words to mind. Sadly, bravery is not one of them.

If we really want to be brave, we must change how we fund our district and spend our education dollars. Our situation continues to be unsustainable even after the levy success. Recent history has taught us that we are on our own here. Looking to tribal, state, and federal bureaucracies for a permanent solution has not worked.

On the subject of bravery, I’d like to thank this minority of citizens who fund our levy and bond measures. You may have voted for these measures, or you may have voted against them. Let’s forget that for the moment and acknowledge that I know working class families and fixed-income senior citizens who have property tax bills now approaching $10,000 per year. Many of them endure this tax obligation on top of mortgages.

Continuing to live in our area under this crushing burden takes real bravery. Do I have such bravery? I’m trying, but I doubt I can last.

I’d also like to thank Superintendent Seeling for her respectful handling of a difficult situation. Never once did I feel that she was ignoring any opinion. We are fortunate that she is wise enough to acknowledge that one can support public education while fighting against an unjust and Kafkaesque taxation scheme. It is not a binary “with us or against us” situation. No one is out to “punish the students,” a phrase I often hear.

We have less than two years to fix our problem. Replacing our short-term band-aids with a permanent, equitable solution will require continued hard work and sacrifices, core tenets of a word we like to use - bravery.

Jon Walton

Dodge Valley