Should The Citizens Of Giles County Be Allowed To Decide If They Want The Largest Property Tax Increase In County History?
The County is being asked to spend over $53,000.000.00, fifty-three million dollars, for a new school and other school projects. That is more debt that the county has ever had at any one time and would require a property tax increase of between seventy and eighty cents. Keep in mind that to date there has not been one single independent study done that says a new school is needed for the county. There has not been one single independent assessment done that even mildly suggested that a new school is needed in the county.
The question was addressed in the County Legislative Meeting on Monday, 18 Sept. Commissioner Jackson proposed a resolution to ask for a private act of the State Legislature to allow for a referendum, during the next election, that would allow the voters of the county to decide if they want/need the proposed school projects totalling over fifty-three million dollars. Approval required a 2/3 majority to pass.
It came as somewhat of a surprise that four Commissioners voted to deny the taxpayers the opportunity to decide this issue. When the smoke cleared Commissioners Journey, Reedy, Brown and Cobb cast their votes to deny citizens the opportunity to vote on the matter of spending over $53,000,000.00 on new school projects, including a new high school.
Thankfully the 2/3 majority vote was attained when fifteen commissioners voted to approve the measure and send it forward.
The question was addressed in the County Legislative Meeting on Monday, 18 Sept. Commissioner Jackson proposed a resolution to ask for a private act of the State Legislature to allow for a referendum, during the next election, that would allow the voters of the county to decide if they want/need the proposed school projects totalling over fifty-three million dollars. Approval required a 2/3 majority to pass.
It came as somewhat of a surprise that four Commissioners voted to deny the taxpayers the opportunity to decide this issue. When the smoke cleared Commissioners Journey, Reedy, Brown and Cobb cast their votes to deny citizens the opportunity to vote on the matter of spending over $53,000,000.00 on new school projects, including a new high school.
Thankfully the 2/3 majority vote was attained when fifteen commissioners voted to approve the measure and send it forward.
posted by Allen Barrett | 4:03 PM
23 Comments:
I am disappointed in those who voted to deny the citizens the opportunity to decide on spending $53 million dollars. They should have abstained or passed rather than show their approval or fear from the school system.
Rose, Danny and Rodney have too close of a tie to the school system to be unbiased. Shame on each of you.
I think that we should allow the football boys to decide.
People have been warning about the commission having more and more people getting paid by the schools. When they don't even want to let us vote you know they ain't representing us just themselves and the schools. Thank you Mr. Barrett for letting us know what happened.
Mr. Barrett, would this be considered a binding referendum? I read that it would give the people the opportunity to "voice their opinions." That doesn't sound very binding to me. Since when did the county commission care about our opinions? Also I read on GilesNews.com that "The act then would need to be passed by the county commission again, preferably by a two-thirds margin." Preferably? What the heck does that mean? Please explain the process. Thanks in advance.
There's plenty, and I mean tons of money if we would just start taxing those blood-sucking churches. I don't think people realize how much money is "given away" to churches by allowing them to be tax exempt. It's shameful especially when people know religion is nonsense.
To 20 Sept. 9:01 AM
Great questions and comment.
What was voted on Monday was whether there was enough support in the Legislative Body to proceed with the request for a private act to allow the referendum during the next election. Had the Commissioners failed to support the issue Monday there would have been no point in going through all the work of writing up a request to the State Legislature. Basically without approval Monday the issue of the people deciding would have been a dead issue.
With the passage on Monday, an actual resolution will now be written and presented to the Giles County Legislative Body for approval, by a 2/3's majority. If that passes it will then be sent to the State Legislature for approval. If approved at the state level, the question will be on the ballot during the next election. Of course, no one knows what the wording will be at this point but I believe it will be as simple a statement as possible while meeting state guidelines. Something along the line of "do you support the proposed increased spending of up to fifty-three million dollars by the Giles County School System" or " Do you support the building of a new high school in Giles County at a cost of approximately fifty-three million dollars."
Hope this helps.
Why build a new school when the one they have is a failing school. Hopefully, the state department of education will not come in and take over the school. It's not the building that needs replacing, it's the leadership and football mentality.
I say keep things the same. No new school, teachers or changing the football program. We need kids who ain't too smart to do all the grunt work in construction, Frito-Lay and other factories. If everyone gets educated or goes to college who's going to do those jobs? Pick up the trash? Fill pot holes? Be the police?
Think about it.
A new school that fails to educate is no different from an old school that fails to educate. Giles County School system is a failed system. More emphasis is on sports than academics and what academics there are feebly taught and even more feebly retained. A High School graduate that can't make change, balance a checkbook or think critically would not even qualify to fill pot holes.
http://www.newschannel5.com/news/newschannel-5-investigates/private-probation-lawsuit-settled-for-14-3-million
The school system lost so many great teachers when it was evident that the powers to be wanted sports to rule rather than education of the students. It will take many years for this system to regain what it lost.
Good article for a laugh this morning. The only way all of this is happening is because the parents want it this way. Give them what they want....stupid kids unprepared to compete in life.
Can I get an Amen?
Stupid people...Stupid children.
More parents are just lazy than stupid. They rely on somebody else to raise, teach, and feed their kids then they wonder why they don't have a relationship with them. Building a new school will be wasted money.
It seems that after reading the paper today, the school system needs a lot more than a new school. It needs to be given a boost to do a better job. The director speaks to what he has done. It seems like he has more than he can handle. The system has declined even more in the last two years than at any time. You can't lose all those great teachers and expect to make gains.
The graduation rate is up. Grades are being given to get them out of school. Never mind they can't read and write; they just need to graduate. GCHS has a state score of 1, Richland High 1, Bridgeforth 1. How sad that is for the present teachers and students.
It shows the care is not in educating the children. It's more about winning on the football field and wanting a new school for no reason.
SAD!!!!
But he was supposed to to so much better than JB. Ask Holt. Ask Mayfield. Ask Brewer. Ask McMasters. Lol.
It's all about the football, and we couldn't even compete there if we didn't recruit!
Wright has not stayed anywhere very long. He stays long enough for those who hired him to get tired of him and he moves on. He also leaves when he does not get his way. NEW SCHOOL???
BOARD OF EDUCATION WANTS INPUT ON REFERENDUM FOR NEW SCHOOL
The Giles County Board of Education will only support a county-wide referendum on a new Giles County High School if the board is included in writing it.
School board member Paul Allen advised fellow board members during last week’s meeting at Elkton School he had been told by State Rep. Barry Doss that a referendum with “poorly written language” had already been sent to Doss without any input from the school board.
“We were promised a seat at the table to write this,” Allen said, adding that Doss told him it was poorly enough written that it probably wouldn’t see the light of day in Nashville as it is.
Allen, who acknowledged he had not seen the referendum, said he was told a property tax increase was included in the language of the document sent to Doss.
According to Allen, he and Director of Schools Phillip Wright had conversations with Doss, who Allen said wanted a declaration from the school board concerning its desire to be involved in writing the referendum.
“Mr. Doss told me if we take a stand that we don’t approve the referendum then he will not take it to Nashville,” Allen said. “He wants us and the county commission to sit down in a room and us talk about this and if that does not bear fruit he will only accept it and only take it to Nashville if we are involved in the writing of it.”
Allen called the referendum “a slap in the face” of every school board member as well as Wright and his staff.
School Board Chairman Richie Brewer followed up Allen’s comments with his own thoughts on the referendum, which he described as a tactic to kill the effort to build a new school through distraction and division.
Allen made a motion that the school board approve the statement: “The Giles County School Board will endorse and support a referendum to build a new Giles County High School only if the referendum is a collaborative effort between the Giles County School Board and the Giles County Commission.”
That statement was approved unanimously with board member Charles McElroy absent.
Assistant Director of Schools Michael Gonzales, who was sitting in at the meeting for Wright, said Doss would be contacted with the statement approved by the board to see if it satisfies his request.
Looks like the fix is in to try and stop the people from deciding whether to build a new school or not, whether to spend 53 million dollars of taxpayer money on an ill-conceived idea of extravagance never seen by the county before. There has never been a time when the county has had a total debt that equaled this proposed expenditure.
HERE IS THE QUESTION I KEEP ASKING AND NO ONE WILL ANSWER, "WHERE IS THE INDEPENDENT STUDY THAT SAYS WE NEED A NEW HIGH SCHOOL?" UNTIL THAT SIMPLE QUESTION IS ANSWERED THERE SHOULD NOT EVEN BE THE SMALLEST CONSIDERATION TO BUILD A NEW ANYTHING.
Until there is a legitimate study that determines a new school is needed the question should be dead.
Going to Boss Doss, one of the most corrupt legislators in Nashville to get his blessings will always yield a decision that is best for Doss, Promise him the contract to do the construction ground work and you're approved.
If the School Board wants to put all their hope of preventing this resolution from becoming a private act they will be very disappointed. The requirement is that a sponsor be found in both the House and the Senate thankfully our State Senator Joey Hensley is a more trustworthy source of support. If Rep. Doss wants to pull an underhanded stunt and refuse to sponsor a straight request for a referendum there can always be a different sponsor sought in the House. The fact is I don't believe that even Rep. Doss would be so arrogant, in an election year, as to refuse to sponsor a request to allow the people to decide if they want to spend 53 million dollars on a new school that NO INDEPENDENT STUDY HAS SHOWN A NEED FOR.
School Board seats that will be up for re-election are districts 1-3-5-7, new less arrogant people who will listen to the people must be put in these seats.
What a joke in what the board chair says. He thinks we should build a new school in every community. I don't recall hearing that he or the county hit a $500 million lottery. It just goes to show what poor leadership the board has and the pressure the director is pushing to get a new school built. Let's put it to a vote and see how much this county wants to put into a new school that is not needed. I just hope the commissioners stand their ground and vote to allow the public to have this vote.
The board will do anything it can to bypass allowing the public to have a say in this matter. They are trying very hard to eliminate your voice.
Who wrote the poorly written language referendum that was sent to Nashville for Giles County to get a new school? I call that a slap in the face for Giles county.
Why are our schools not kept up where new ones want have to be built?
It seems the American way is no good upkeep let fall down and build new.
It seems that someone has already begun a smear campaign against allowing the people of Giles County to decide if they are willing to spend over $53,000,000.00 for an overly ambitious building project. Remember that to date there has not been one single independent study that shows there is even a need for a new school.
Unless I missed something along the way there has not been any official statement requesting a referendum sent to Rep. Doss or anyone else in Nashville. In fact, if there has been one sent it was done outside the appropriate channels.
Last month the County Legislative Body voted approval to have an official request written and presented to the County Legislative Body at its November Meeting. Nothing, whether it's poorly written or perfectly written, can be officially sent to the State authorities for approval until after it has been officially approved by the County Legislative Body by a 2/3 majority.
Until a resolution is officially introduced in the November County Legislative Body meeting and approved by a 2/3 majority there is no official request sent to State Legislators.
To make it extremely clear there has not been an official resolution sent anywhere requesting a countywide referendum for anything. If someone tries to tell you about a poorly written resolution sent to Nashville they are simply totally uninformed or just a plain old-fashioned liar.
Holy crap. We even lost our homecoming. Whats going to happen when we don't have an out of towner quarterbacking us?
How can a board member who send his/her children to out-of-county schools vote to build a new school and tax payers be stuck with this bill? We have allowed too many people from outside this county to come in and make the big dollars, yet have no roots or interest in this county. The director of schools doesn't care what this county will do. He won't be in Giles County much longer for several reasons. All he has done is whine for a new school and lead the system to its worse rankings in recent years. It is much worse than the public knows.
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