This area of rolling farmland, woods and creeks is threatened. The very fabric of the Pennsylvania way of life is threatened. No longer can our citizens retire, live on their savings and then pass the family home to their children. Some residents may be forced from their homes. In the South Eastern School District, more than 400 homeowners’ accounts were turned over to the York County Tax Claim Bureau for failure to pay property taxes in 2005. (See Tax Collection for a breakdown.)  The excessive school property taxes aren’t just affecting senior citizens; middle-class families cannot continue to pay outrageous taxes, either.

The South Eastern School Board’s spending is unrestrained. CHANGE IS NECESSARY. We, the taxpayers of the South Eastern School District, must work with the School Board to make that change.

In 2005, the community was outraged by the 27.7% tax increase, but their outcries, concerns and opinions went unheeded by the School Board.  In 2006, the budget increased 8.96%.  In 2007, another 5.51% increase.  And it doesn’t stop - the preliminary budget for 2008-09 calls for a 5.6% increase.

The South Eastern Tax Reform Coalition continues to hope the School Board will be open to a true discussion of the budget and our concerns.

The 2006/07 budget included a tax relief measure, not to exceed $86,000, for senior citizens on limited incomes.  We opposed this measure, but the tax rebate is now an annual budgeted expense, and as we all know, expenses continue to grow, not decrease.   We support tax relief, not just for senior citizens, but for all taxpayers.  However, we do not support building rebates into the District’s annual school budget, because these rebates to certain taxpayers must be compensated for by all other taxpayers in the district.

The South Eastern Tax Reform Coalition wants the best education for our students, and to see our hard-earned dollars spent wisely….not frivolously.

The bottom line is, our School Board needs to be more creative and fiscally responsible.