LETTERS: CHAFFEE VOTERS SAY NO TO SCHOOL TAXES

To the editor:

Having spent the most of 58 years in Chaffee and having paid taxes during this period of time and having been on a fixed income for the past 20 years, I have had some experience with a budget. There have been many times during the past 20 years that we have found that we had more expenses coming in than we had cash coming in to take care of those expenses. So we went back to something we learned many years ago: We had to refigure our budget and make some adjustments so that our expenditures would not exceed our income. I learned many long years ago as a child that you could not take a nickel and buy a dollar's worth of candy.

Maybe things have changed now, but I have always been under the impression that we elected a school board to represent the people of the district. Somewhere in my mind, I was under the impression that the school board, in turn, hired a superintendent to carry out those wishes. Somewhere in my lifetime, I was taught that "no" meant a denial or refusal. I am not too smart, but it appeared to me that with the results of the last two elections, where we voted not to raise our taxes, the people of Chaffee made it very clear that they said "no" to the school board's request.

There are probably two ways this problem could very easily be solved:

1. Sit down and adjust the school district's budget to where income would take care of expenses. If the district should need help in doing this, I am sure there are eighth graders in our school who could help.

2. But if the district is bent on raising taxes regardless of the wishes of the people and is having a problem doing this, I suggest the board members resign their positions and let the people elect someone who would represent the people of Chaffee.

I noticed in the Southeast Missourian the district is advertising for four additional jobs: book-keeper/secretary to the superintendent, teacher's aide for special education, part-time custodian and substitute bus driver.

WATIS R. HARRELL

Chaffee