Tucson Schools Raise Fees, Plan Tax Override

by David Safier

(TASL) For the first time in awhile, I once again don my tax-and-spend mantle tassel to praise TUSD for planning a $27 million tax override for the November ballot. Half the money is to be spent on lowering class sizes.

The Star estimated it would cost an owner of a $150,000 home about $10 a month — 33 cents a day, or $120 a year, depending on how you want to look at it.

The question is whether this is a fair way to tax people to increase school funds. There are probably better ways. But to paraphrase the sage, Donald Rumsfeld, “You go for funding with the taxes you have, not the taxes you want.” Or something like that.

TUSD is also increasing some costs to students. Lunch will go up 25 cents. Students will be charged $20 more for high school extracurricular activities — sports and others — and middle schools will charge $20 for the first time. A family has a $200 a year cap, and families who can’t afford it will be forgiven the fee.

I’m not sure charging fees for extracurricular activities is a terrific idea, but it’s not a bad thing. If low funding forces schools to prioritize spending, extracurricular activities are a good place to cut back by increasing fees.