LETTERS: TWO CANDIDATES QUESTION NEED FOR TAX INCREASES

To the editor:

At the Jackson School Board candidate forum, I watched the full slate of candidates present their opinions and aspirations. I was impressed with all the candidates and am confident the school board will, regardless of the outcome, gain dedicated, thoughtful members.

One question in particular, and the subsequent answers, helped me make my decision on the two candidates I support. The forum monitor asked how candidates would sell a tax increase to the public, as if a tax increase was a foregone conclusion. While four candidates presented general ideas about communicating with the public, only Donna Tidwell and Kevin Schaper had the nerve to question the premise that a tax increase is necessary. Much of both candidates' arguments throughout the evening centered on using careful, long-range planning and innovative day-to-day management techniques to prevent future tax increases.

Considering the difficulty the school board had selling the bond issue for the junior high school addition (two defeats, one squeaker victory), it is obvious that the local electorate is much more resistant to tax increases than in the past. I doubt local taxpayers are necessarily resistant to small tax increase, but I do believe they lack confidence in how the school board will ultimately spend that money. Tidwell and Schaper's expressed passion for innovative fiscal management and minimizing local taxes should touch a nerve in the general electorate.

LARRY BILL

Jackson, Mo.