To the editor:

This is about taxes, not teachers. The school board is paying about $45,000 for the April ballot asking for a tax increase for teachers’ salaries. On Jan. 16, the school board stated they had $2.4 million left from the 2005 bond issue. It looks like the school board asks for more than they need, money that they can spend at their discretion.

Who has greater need? The school board wants teachers’ salaries raised, but there are people who cannot afford more taxes because of low-paying jobs, because they have lost their jobs or because they are trying to keep their home from foreclosure or are living on a fixed income. Do teachers deserve a pay increase? Sure, but so does everyone with bills to pay. It’s wrong to raise taxes to improve the quality of life for one while making it more difficult for another to make ends meet. Last week, about 20 homes were listed in the foreclosure process. Ten bankruptcy filings were listed in the March 23 Journal-World.

The school board says the tax increase won’t raise your taxes that much, the same thing city and county commissioners say when they are ask for increased taxes. Then gas, electric, sewer and water rates go up and they all say that’s not much. Add them together, and it’s a lot! With the high cost of fuel, people are changing their spending habits. Because of the economic slowdown, the school board needs to change their spending habits.

Scott Henderson,

Lawrence