What Happened to the Money We
Gave You Last Time?
by Jim Jackson

The insatiable demand from the Huntsville School System for more money is getting tiresome. Particularly when there is clear evidence of irrational management of the funds already provided.

Cases in point: In 1999, Superintendent Dr. Eugene Thompson fired 19 teachers which he said were surplus because of declining enrollment. The school board, prodded by the teacher's union, made him reinstate 15 of them -- cost about $525,000 per year. A new deputy superintendent was hired while two assistant superintendents were already on the payroll; one of which had ably served as acting superintendent -- cost $107,000. Johnson High School was provided with a special grant of $300,000 for three new language teachers, staff development, computers, dictionaries, calculators for each student and mood music to help raise achievement levels -- result, Johnson is still on Caution/Alert where it has been since 1995.

Last year, the board decided to buy out Dr. Thompson's contract -- cost $195,000. Dr. Ann Roy Moore was elevated to the job over Acting Superintendent, Dr. Mary Ruth Yates, (her second tenure as superintendent) with a substantial increase in pay, the third highest in the state ($140,000), behind Birmingham, a school system in bankruptcy ($173,500) and Mountain Brook ($161,460) -- additional cost $30,000. The Principal at Johnson was removed for health reasons, and was reassigned to the central office at the same salary -- cost $94,000.

Rather than reassign someone from within the system, a new principal for Johnson was brought in from the outside -- cost $94,000. Just recently, the school board voted to hold a special election for new taxes -- cost $100,000. Holding this election as part of the regular 2002 elections could have been done at no cost. By way of an excuse, we hear that donations from Huntsville businesses will pay this cost -- it doesn't seem to matter that with this donation, the salaries of three teachers could have been paid for a year.

These expenditures amount to $1,445,000 -- real money, enough to pay the salaries of at least nine teachers for five years.

And this doesn't include $13,500 for a one day training session by Dr. Ako Kambon to reorient the teachers in the Northwest schools to accommodate a different culture. This for students who have grown up, not in a foreign country, but in well educated, completely integrated Huntsville, Alabama.

Nor does it include $30,000 for a consultant to teach the board members how to get along (Dr. James Dawson refused to attend).

And, it doesn't include $25,000 for a consultant, Dr. Richard Greene, who was hired to conduct a search for a new superintendent. This while the school board, and everybody else in Huntsville, knew that Dr. Moore was going to be selected. The board had made sure that Dr. Yates' name was not on the list of candidates for consideration.

And, unfortunately for the board, Dr. Green surfaced the disgusting opinion that the people of Huntsville have a school board that is "dysfunctional, unprofessional and embarrassing" (The Huntsville Times, 2/27/01). Our school board could also be described as wasteful and irresponsible.

A Look at Taxes in Alabama
Excerpts from The Alliance,
a publication of the Alabama Policy Institute

For years politicians and journalists have been singing the blues about Alabama's tax code. They complain loudly that state and local government does not have enough money to solve the state's problems. But the question Alabama taxpayers should be asking is, "Are these problems due to 'too little' money or due to 'too much' spending."

A study by Mark Thornton, Ph. D., concludes that "while Alabama is a low tax state, it is the highest revenue state in the region and the relative size and scope of state government in Alabama exceeds that of the surrounding states."

Dr. Thornton, the former assistant superintendent for the State of Alabama Banking Department, points out that Alabamians are made to feel embarrassed about how low our taxes are and how little we put into education. The propaganda on tax increases always seems to be "for the children" when the reality is that most of the money never makes it to the classroom where it is needed most.

When it comes to the issue of taxes, it is sometimes difficult to separate the spin from the facts. The following are some points to consider with regard to tax reform in Alabama. The citizens of Alabama collectively pay more tax dollars into state government as a percentage of income than every state in the Southeast except one.

a. From 1990 to 1999, taxes paid by Alabama citizens increased by 11.2 % while the national average increased by 8.5% according to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)

b. The Education Trust Fund (ETF) increased 5.19 percent in 2000 to a whopping $4.22 billion while expenditures increased 5.22 percent.

c. Thornton's study points out that in terms of broad measures of government revenue, the state of Alabama has one of the highest amounts of revenue per capita in the region. Whether this is adequate revenue cannot be honestly answered until we have addressed the way the state budgets and spends these funds.

d. Proration most often occurs because the state's budgets are based upon the next years "estimated" revenues and not on the previous year's actual revenue. Governor Siegelman was forces to declare proration because the budgets were too high.

e. In 1990, the people of Alabama paid 29.4 percent of their income in taxes, according to ALEC's National Report on State Fiscal Policy. By 1999, Alabamian's tax burden had risen to 32.7 percent, an increase of 11.2 percent over that 10 year period compared to the national average of an 8.5 percent increase.

f. While it is true that Alabama ranks 50th among the states in per capita tax burden, we rank 47th in per capita income.

When federal, local and state governments are already asking people to hand over a third of their income, a serious discussion should take place regarding the spending of money. Maybe it is time Alabama taxpayers demand more EFFICIENCY and ACCOUNTABILITY from our government.

More Wasteful Spending
Excerpts from Proration is a Shell Game
by Jack Miller of SuppressedNews.com

• The Huntsville City School system spent $48,000 to make sure no one gets paid more than their boss. One employee received a $15,000 raise.
• Huntsville City School board members can make trips without any prior approval by the board or the people of Huntsville.
• Since 1986 teachers have only had to pay $2 per month for insurance while the school system picks up the other $419 per employee per month. This is $486 million per year coming out of education.
• While there have been some reductions, the Alabama education money still continues to fund state museums and attractions in the name of education; the U.S. Space & Rocket Center (the state's largest tourist attraction), the USS Alabama, the Shakespeare theatre, Constitution Hall park, etc. Interestingly enough if your child attends/visits one of these attractions on a school tour they still pay an entrance fee.
• The Alabama education money bought kitchen equipment for a U.S. government facility.