Class Room Sizes and Your Tax Bill

When it comes to education there is one constant subject that is discussed by parents, teachers and administrators – class room size.  Private schools lure parents in with the promised of small classes.  Teachers complain about the amount of work that needs to be graded in addition to keeping control of a large classroom.  Parents feel that their child is not getting enough attention.  And administrators have to deal with something as basic as finding a way to fit another desk in a classroom.

 There is only one way to keep classroom size down – more money.  And the money has to be used to hire more teachers and build more classrooms.  How do we get more money – in Anne Arundel county the school budget is greater than 50 percent of the entire budget.  Smaller classrooms cannot come at the expense of police officers, fireman, libraries and general maintenance.

 In Pennsylvania and New York they have a school district tax.  This is in addition to property taxes – but the money stays in the district. I have no idea if this is even an option with Maryland state laws, but it is worth thinking about.

Would you be willing to pay more in taxes if you knew the money could only be spent on or Severna Park schools?