Look what the MJ Brady Board did to the school tax!

  

 

 

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2.52

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 96

 

 

 

2.50

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.51

 

2.48

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.46

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.44

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.42

 

 

 92

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.40

 

 

 

 

 91

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.38

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.36

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.34

 

 

 

 89

 

 89

 

 

 

 

 

2.32

 

 

 

 

 

 

 88

 

 

 

 

2.30

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.31

 

 

2.28

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.26

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.24

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.22

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.20

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.18

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 83

 

 

2.16

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.14

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.12

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.12

2.10

 

 

2.10

2.10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.08

2.08

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.08

 

 

 

2.06

 

2.07

 

 

2.06

 

2.07

 

 

 

 

2.04

 

 

 

 

 

2.04

 

 

 

 

 

2.02

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.00

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 76

 

 

 

When we built LBES the School Board told us that the tax rate would be held under $2.10 per hundred of EAV:

 

 

We moved into LBES at the beginning of the MJ Brady era -- the time that MJ Brady became President of the School Board.  Her tenure is indicated by the black box in the top chart above.  Her School Board had millions in the bank and she could have held the line.  Instead, the rate skyrocketed through $2.31 to $2.51 and the bank accounts swelled to $16 million.

 

A group of local taxpayers petitioned her board and spoke at her board meetings.  They emailed other District 65 taxpayers and they created a website.  The last tax levy of the MJ Brady School Board of $2.12 finally acknowledged this grassroots public outcry but only because we elect a new School Board in April, 2013.  The red bars are election years in the chart above.  The School Caucus has produced a fine slate of candidates who will keep the bars in the $2.10 area.  The many millions of cash on hand means that school operations are unaffected.

 

Vote for the staight Caucus ticket.  MJ Brady and two others are also running but she raised taxes when she didn't have to. Cash reserves went from ridiculously high to outrageously high -- cash that the taxpayers should have been allowed to keep.  The School Caucus slate will maintain our standards but will not tax us just to build bank balances.  They deserve your vote.

 

 

   Special Note Regarding Academics

Many people still have an intuitive faith in that old canard that spending more money guarantees improved academic performance. The blue numbers show the percentile rank of the Lake Bluff Middle School among all Illinois middle schools for Math and English. Notice that the last two years for which we have paid taxes and the last two years of standardized testing show wild divergence.

Mary Jane Brady and Eric Waggoner were both elected to serve for the four years shown by the black box within the graph at the top of this page. The tax rate skyrocketed and the test scores plummeted during their term. They both now seek a second term but neither sought a Caucus endorsement.

This is what the School Caucus is for: We could have asked them about this and listened to their answers but they were not willing to sit for Caucus interviews. Instead, they are running against the Caucus-endorsed candidates and hope they will never have to explain themselves.

The Caucus slogan this election is “Academics + Accountability” because that is exactly what makes the candidates of the Lake Bluff School Caucus different from Mrs. Brady and Mr. Waggoner.

For historical analysis see:  65.pxxq.com/selfishness.html