APS personnel should live in city, says taxpayer
To the editor:
I’m writing in regard to the front-page article in your Aug. 23-29 West Side Leader issue about the recent public school progress reports. It was no surprise that the suburban schools received high ratings while the Akron Public Schools [APS] received poor ones. After all, Ohio schools are supported by real estate taxes and anyone with eyes can see that property values are higher in the suburbs and so generate more tax revenue. More money for schools apparently means better progress reports. No doubt that is why the APS is always asking for more millage.
But these reports raise one burning question: How many of the APS teachers, administrators and support personnel reside and pay property taxes in Copley-Fairlawn, Revere, Woodridge and other school districts? Remember, these people are paid out of Akron residents’ real estate taxes. Then they take that Akron tax money and pass it on to the suburban school districts they reside in. This feels like a new form of colonialism. Our city is being mined for school personnel salaries, which are then taken outside the city and used to enrich others.
APS personnel need to be required to live in the city of Akron so that their real estate taxes are returned to the district that pays their salaries. One APS Board of Education member told me this would make us unable to compete for the best teachers, but I wonder if we really want teachers who wouldn’t live here. When I worked at the wastewater treatment plant, I was paid out of Akron residents’ utility fees, and I was required to live in the city of Akron. It’s time to ask the same of those who educate our children.
Reita Louis, West Akron
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