Most Citizens Willing to Pay for Improved Schools

According to a Kaiser Family Foundation/Kennedy School of Government survey*:

• 75% of Americans say they would be willing to have their taxes raised by $200 a year to pay for improved schools.
  
  
• 55% say they would be willing to have their taxes raised by $500 per year.
  
  
• Only 16% said they would NOT pay even $100 more annually for better schools.

*Data from Sept. 7 1999 poll

Considerations Relative to Public Schools and Education

• The “bible” of community valuation is The Places Rated Almanac. Of its nine core factors for rating communities, education is number five. Here’s what it says about the importance of schools: “Economists comparing homes among neighborhoods know price differences have less to do with well-designed, well-built houses, and a lot to do with how good the schools are.”
  
  
• According to the National Alliance of Businesses, “…the second most often cited reason for a new business selecting a particular location is the quality of schools.”

Lower Standards
Of the 58 greater metro-area school districts, we have the 2nd-largest average class sizes in secondary schools, and eighth-largest in elementary schools. Our students cannot achieve to their potential in such crowded classrooms.

Erode Quality of Life
Ask a new resident why they chose our area, and chances are the reasons will include “the schools.” Twin Cities at our front steps, boundary waters at our back steps, and quality schools all around. As class sizes rise, community quality drops.