Click below to view the proposed 2018-2019 School
Budget:
This year, Lodi is receiving an additional $2,106,070
in State Aid. Other districts are
envious of all the State Aid we are receiving.
This year, Lodi is no longer budgeting for the $7.5M
administration building (the project is supposedly abandoned).
Lodi
should be in comfortable financial shape.
On paper, this should be the year for a tax reduction.
This year’s budget no longer includes the $7.5M
administration building. Why would this
year’s budget be higher than last year’s?
This year’s budget grew by $612,891. Why would the tax levy increase by $813,138?
When the Board budgeted for a new administration building
(2017-18), it had no problem withdrawing $8,649,142 from “Capital Reserves”. But this year it is only withdrawing $4,187,099
from Capital Reserves for Capital Outlay (school Construction Projects). Those projects have a projected cost of $5,114,955.
Conclusion: No matter how much additional State Aid Lodi
receives or how much Lodi has stashed away, the Lodi politicians are eager to
raise your taxes, at least 2%.
This blog has been up since 2013. Look at old posts about Lodi’s past school
budgets. Budgets were extremely padded and there were unnecessary tax increases. Lodi
had been overtaxed by millions. That
money was going to be spent on an unnecessary administration building. Look at old newspaper articles and letters to the editor where young, inexperienced, ill informed, conflicted Board Presidents (on behalf of those pulling their strings) blatantly lie about the reasons for tax increases.
Some Board members will say they are raising taxes for
the “children”. They mention “children” twice a year- at election time and when they
are raising taxes.
Please read the budget and locate the salaries of Board
Members' relatives. How many six figure
salaries have you located? Board members
have a personal interest in raising school taxes, even when those increases
aren’t necessary. Furthermore, most
members are disengaged and won’t even read the budget before they vote to
approve.
You would think the mayor and council would
encourage the Board of Education to start acting responsibly. You would think that they would want the
Board to avoid tax increases during years in which they are not necessary. Unfortunately, the mayor and council cannot
advocate on behalf of the Lodi taxpayers.
Why? Almost the entire Lodi council
is either employed by the Lodi BOE or have immediate relatives employed by the
Lodi BOE.
Please
read the proposed budget carefully. Take
into account the additional $2.1M in State Aid and the $7.1M that is no longer
budgeted for the unnecessary administration building. You don’t have to be accountant to see that
there is something wrong with this Budget and something wrong with this Board.
Make your voices heard. Stand up for yourselves. Tell your Board Members to start serving the
community instead of serving themselves.
This post first went up on March 25, 2018.
