Lawrence city commissioners’ hearts are in the right place, but raising city taxes to aid local schools could be a dangerous precedent.

As Mayor David Dunfield said Tuesday night, Lawrence can’t afford to “lose a generation of schoolchildren,” but neither can it afford to step too quickly into what could be a financial black hole.

Three of five city commissioners indicated Tuesday that they were willing to contribute $1.4 million to the Lawrence school district to pay for sports programs in the schools. This action would be a laudable piece of cooperation between the city and the school district, but it shouldn’t be undertaken lightly.

Lawrence obviously places a high priority on the quality of public education it supplies its young people. Frustrated with the lack of financial support from the Kansas Legislature, many local residents are willing to commit city tax dollars to fill some of the gap left by state funding cuts. It is an investment in our future generation as well as in preserving Lawrence’s reputation as a good place to live and do business.

However, collecting city property tax dollars to fund school activities could set a dangerous precedent. Not only does it open the door to any number of other organizations and agencies to make similar requests of the city, it also encourages the Kansas Legislature to continue its trend of underfunding public schools and shifting more financial responsibilities to local governments.

If the city proceeds with plans to dedicate funds to school athletic programs, it should take a conservative approach. Any city tax levy to benefit local schools should be aimed at maintaining current programs and preventing further declines rather than expanding programs. Everyone is feeling the effect of the slow economy and tightening their belts. The school district should be no exception. City funding should be used to stave off financial disaster for the district but not to enhance district programs at the expense of city projects that arguably are as important, or more important, to many taxpayers.

Any city tax levy for schools also should be viewed as a purely temporary measure. It should be reviewed with each year’s budget and perhaps even include some sort of sunset provision. Subsidizing public education should be a stopgap proposition, not something we accept as a permanent responsibility of city government.

An amount that is less than the full $1.4 million price tag for school sports should be considered. City parks and recreation officials would scream, but is there any chance that part of the half-cent sales tax that is dedicated to that department’s programs could be diverted to the school athletic programs?

If the city raises money for the schools, it also should expect some accountability. The purpose of helping fund athletic programs is to free up money in the school budget for purposes more directly related to education. The city won’t have a hand in those decisions, but the school districts administration should make sure they are apprised of how the city’s contribution is benefiting the district.

The course being contemplated by Lawrence city commissioners is uncharted and includes a number of pitfalls. Providing some relief for the suffering school system is a worthy goal, but commissioners must make sure not to open a financial Pandora’s box that will be difficult to close.