Trigg County school board refuses to jump on tax-raising bandwagon

Not all school boards are jumping on the tax-raising bandwagon.

The Trigg County School Board recently declined to raise property taxes, citing the county's struggling economy. This is a vast change from recent years in which the school board has typically raised the tax by 4 percent each year, the maximum amount allowed by state law without a voter referendum.

But economic reality has a way of messing up tax-and-spend fantasies.

Unemployment skyrocketed in the region when Johnson Controls Inc., the area's largest employer, closed its doors in 2008. Johnson Controls employed 559 workers in Cadiz and the surrounding communities, and had been a Trigg County mainstay for 42 years. The school board has voted down tax increases each year since Johnson closed its doors.

Superintendent Travis Hamby says the district could really use the money. What administrator wouldn't say that? But give Trigg County school board members credit for putting the interests of their community ahead of a revenue grab.

We wonder if Jefferson County Public Schools and other districts that have thumbed their collective noses at taxpayers while ignoring citizens' pleas to contain taxes are paying attention to the fiscal responsibility shown in Trigg County.

We bet taxpayers who vote in elections for school board members are.

For more information on property taxes and school boards, click here.