A Pataskala Standard (Ohio) article details two new attempts to raise revenue this November after three property tax levies failed in succession. (quoting article) “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and not expecting the same result,” said school board President Scott Hayes during Monday’s meeting, referencing the three property tax defeats.

Personally, even though I am a product of such, I’m not entirely convinced that state-sponsored schooling is the way of the future. Conceptually speaking, you have a lot of people paying for a finite number of students, of which most if not a lot move on to college and out of the area. This results in a return-on-investment to the local society of nil. I think it would be interesting to see a study, especially in the school district where I live, of where people go after high school. If our area is allowed to grow to the point where we need more doctors, engineers, and so forth, then the local area would get an ROI. Of course this seems to be a sore spot for our area, as my collections of others’ anecdotal evidence suggest we aren’t the most friendly to industry. Unfortunately with me on the road so much my information is secondhand, and if there is information to the contrary I’d be happy to reference it.

Just going off of this article, it seems that these tax issues are being sold incorrectly. Given a choice, if I don’t see any benefits, why (hypothetically) should I vote for an increase, especially since my kids won’t hit the schools for a couple of years? The need has to be shown, and not just during school board meetings. I haven’t made a school board meeting for years, and I still vote.

What would cause me to vote to raise taxes? Pictures and data need to be taken and published to all potential taxpayers. Moreover, it needs to be tied to a general plan for growth for the area that makes it attractive to new property owners and to college graduates from this area. Show me a return on my investment.