And if you don’t have kids, or they’ve graduated, you owe it to yourself to keep your property values up. Let’s say that $30/yr on a $150K home is the price of housing price stability. OTOH, without the $30/yr, the reputation of OR schools slips, let’s say that home prices drop an average of 5%. That’s $7500 on a $150K home. In this scenario, $30/yr is a bargain.

Even if prices only slip 1% in five years, it’s a wash.

And none of that counts the possible impact of local sales taxes and business developement.

Joel, your argument is perfect for appealing to the “don’t raise my taxes” crowd. Oddly, one of the strongest just-say-no voices in the community, Martin McBride, has spoken strongly in favor of fully funding the schools’ request, but covering the cost by reducing economic development funding.

It probably time to put up a fresh post of my own again… I’ve been neglecting my responsibilities there.

Really? Then they’re stupider or more illiterate than I dreamed.

Anyone with a rudimentary grasp of elementary logic can see that self-interest argues tax support for schools. However, I do assume that the reader is possessed of rudimentary reasoning skills.

You are on the right side of this issue, Netmom, but just because clowns like McBride use anti-logic doesn’t mean that thoughtful people should abandon reason.