To the editor:

This is in regard to Feb. 17 Public Forum letters by Leslie Newman and Ray Finch.

Both letters have merit and show a true concern for the school funding shortfall. One speaks of the public donating to fund the schools. How long would this be expected to go on? The other letter speaks to how we got to this mess. Both are only temporary fixes.

There is a direct connection between our schools’ problems and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The federal budget is stretched to the breaking point, and so our school are already broken. To fight one war usually requires raising taxes. How people can think we can finance two wars and not raise taxes is beyond me. The Bush tax cuts of 2001 on the wealthy and big corporations need to expire at the end of this year as they are scheduled to. The tax cuts for the poor and middle class should remain in force.

At the state level, the 1-cent sales tax proposed by Gov. Mark Parkinson would be hard to face since the city of Lawrence recently voted a sales tax increase to finance the city bus service. This tax has an end date built into it. The state sales tax proposed by the governor would also be for a stated timeframe. When these two temporary taxes expire, everyone in Lawrence would benefit. The economy would be stimulated by increased spending, and small business would profit.