Frankly, the Scranton School Board hasn’t done all that it can to solve its problems and I don’t get it.  I’ve been pretty clear about proposals that would help, and nobody seems interested in making them happen.  I’ll propose them here again, where they can fall on deaf ears.  Some of these you’ll have heard from me already, but I do have one big new one that I feel is a no-brainer that — and you won’t believe this until you read it — could result in a tax decrease for wage-earners in the city!  Yeah.  I’m great.

1. Create a voluntary leave program — This could’ve saved a lot of jobs.  And we don’t need proof of concept: the Riverside School District, where I work, does this successfully.  A teacher can take a year off, unpaid, and have the job guaranteed upon return.  For taking this, they would either get health care for one year or a one-time payout of $3,000 (or whatever amount the district finds appropriate).  This saves the district a fortune.  In fact, it saves the district MORE than an outright layoff!  Why?  Because the district isn’t paying into unemployment, all legacy costs like pensions and Social Security and so on are also suspended.  Why didn’t the Board do this?  No idea.  I suggested it both on this site and to the Finance Chair, Director Paige Cognetti, but to no avail.  Hopefully, they’ll give it a shot this year.  But I’ve seen no movement.
2. Pursue Litigation Against Sansky — The district should sue to recover what he stole, plain and simple.
3. Consider Litigation Against Directors/Administrators/Employees Guilty of Malfeasance — If somebody did something wrong, knowingly, and are indicted by a Grand Jury, the district should consider filing suit against these people.  Fire them.  Get back what they stole.
4. ENACT ALL OF THE ITEMS ON THIS LIST — I posted this months ago, and a lot of what I suggested hasn’t even been broached.  Seriously, steal my ideas.  I’m begging.  I’d like my son to have a school district worth attending.
5. Offer a vision for the future — I haven’t heard anybody on the Board or in district administration offer a compelling vision for rebuilding in the wake of this crisis.  People need hope.  Those laid off would feel a whole lot better, and the families with kids in the district would feel a whole lot better, if the district offered a plan for bringing back jobs and restoring cut programs.  Hell, go a step further and talk about what BRAND NEW programs will be coming once the district is out of the woods.  People can stomach cuts now if they know that the future will be brighter.  We are currently missing that from our leaders.
6. Get a Better Board — This iteration of the Board is certainly better than the last, but it’s got a long way to go.  Some Directors do not deserve to be there, and should be voted out.  Many have been present throughout this disaster and have either intentionally ignored it, or are too unqualified to understand the position they hold.  Lots of directors are also opting not to run, or will run for higher office, (more info on some of the other seats in the next post), we have openings and opportunities to simply get better people.

And really, this is the one you’ve all be waiting for, the one that can both raise revenue for the district, all while reducing your taxes, dear people of Scranton.  I give you… THE GRAND FINALE:

• Enact a Payroll Tax, Reduce Taxes — Gasp!  A tax reduction?  Yes, it’s possible.  This is another item I’ve been proposing publicly and actively.  Director Cognetti did tell me she was working on this.  So at least somebody is listening to something I’m saying.  What does this entail exactly?  Time for sub-bullet points!
  • A payroll tax is a tax on total payroll of an entity.  So it is a tax on businesses and non-profits and government entities that exist in Scranton.  This is a fairer way of sharing the tax burden, because lots of people work in Scranton, utilize its services, and don’t live here.  Further, a massive chunk of the city is taken up by non-profits (including government buildings), which means regular taxpayers subsidize them.  This would be a way for them to fairly contribute.
  • This can be paired with an elimination of the district side of the business and mercantile tax (hooray for a reduction!) and we can get some relief to businesses that complain about it.
  • This can also be paired with a reduction in either property or wage taxes in the city, both of which drive people out.  Average people need relief, plain and simple.
  • In order to achieve a balanced budget, alongside the relief in the previous two points, the tax simply has to be set at a rate where revenue generation estimates match up.  That’ll require an actuarial study, which should be done by this Board immediately.

I do hope the Board finally listens.  Scrantonians deserve a great educational system, and a break from insanely high taxes.

I’ve been preaching about a lot of this since 2011, and no matter who is on the Board, we get the same old, same old: stagnation, declining educational outcomes, and now pervasive corruption and indictments.  They have to wake up some time.  We can’t afford otherwise.