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Tax dollars mindlessly consumed
The district is in dire financial straights and has operated in deficit since the current teachers contract was negotiated in 2004 which sent the budget off a cliff. Five board members and the superintendent will tell you that much like a household budget, the district must do whatever it takes to get in the black, although the budget numbers they have offered at public meetings are sketchy and include establishing cash reserves the administration would like to have on hand.
There is an alternate proposal supported by four board members to also eliminate the deficit without a tax increase with new casino revenue, holding the line on union contract negotiations and limiting the proposed reserves the administration has proposed. The elephant in the room that the five board members in favor of the increase will not address is employee salaries and compensation, representing 68 percent of the district budget for 2007-08.
The problem in Canon-McMillan is not complex. The board has been rife with members with close ties with the district unions, members reluctant to challenge a powerful voting block like the teachers union or the occasional member who blithely believes that a tax increase without a well-defined plan will somehow be used to build a new school.
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If most taxpayers had voted in the primary in May, the results of the school board election would have likely been very different. Taxpayers should take heed how the teachers union organized and rallied behind certain school board candidates at the polls last month.
A tax increase now will allow further concessions to our district teachers and postpone necessary hard decisions. No quarrel intended with district teachers, but their $25 monthly contributions for family health insurance premiums with no co-pays or deductibles, unlimited doctor visits and average annual raises for tenured teachers of almost 6 percent for only 190 days worked over each of the past five years do not reflect the burdens borne by the people paying for all this.
Karen Harr
Canonsburg
Best show in town
I have discovered a way for the residents of Canonsburg to save money on entertainment during the economic recession. Attend a Canon-McMillan budget meeting. First of all it's free and there is no charge for parking. Where else can you watch a comedy, a tragedy and an action movie all at the same time, live on stage? It's rated PG-13 however because of violence and foul language.
Dom Broglia
Canonsburg
Why pot won't
be legalized
It was somewhat amusing to read the Associated Press article speculating that our Pennsylvania government might consider realistic and logical laws regarding marijuana use, ("Momentum builds for legalizing pot," June 16). As long as the illegality of this drug remains a cash cow for the legal industry you may rest assured that sensible legislation will never happen, no matter what the rest of the country does.
The layers of courts, abundance of lawyers, and the dearth of common sense in Harrisburg dictate that countless lives and fortunes will continued to be squandered in the dubious pursuit of this prohibition. You would think the surge of crime spawned by prohibition of alcohol in the 1920s would provide a lesson about legislating morality.
I guess the only innovative ideas that emanate from our state capitol involve pay grabs, job selling and creative tax schemes.
Mark Livingood
Washington
Legalized pot? : 6/19/2009
Well, seeing how many alchoholics have been made via the legalization of alcohol, what do people really expect with the legalization of any other addictive substance?
Marijuana : 6/19/2009
is not addictive...
Marijuana : 6/19/2009
Legal or not, if people want it, they get it. It's just another example of how the government can't see a cash cow in front of them. Explain to me how any government can outlaw something that "God" (i.e. nature) provides? How could good "Christian" people say it should be illegal when it was given to us by their God.
Let the people decide : 6/19/2009
Alcohol, smoking, over eating, prescription drugs, etc... these are all addictive habits that are legal and deadly. Marijuana is not legal but I believe only has one death associated to it's use. The 4th most common cause of arrest in the US is for Marijuana possession. We spend billions on "the war on drugs" and 60% of the people with drug charges are for marijuana. Let's see 1 death, no reports that I know of where someone robed or killed someone for a joint. Make it legal and tax it.
Marijuana : 6/19/2009
Why do people want to use mind-altering drugs? Why is it so important to use these substances, and that includes alcohol? Please, no reasons such as "it is their own business." Nobody lives in isolation. What anybody does with their life, including using mind-altering substances has an impact upon others, often a negative one. Asking again, why?
Canon-Mac : 6/19/2009
I just want to praise Karen Harr for a great letter.
r : 6/19/2009
perhaps folks like to "re adjust" occasionally because of the web of lies perpetrated by those in power and the feelings of helplessness that arise when often corrupt forces beyond our control affect our lives so profoundly . job gone. there goes the healthcare. food's gone up. 401k just got raped. even when things are going well, for some, life is pretty much work. go home. wait to work again. there's not much extra. if that is freedom in America, fire up, drink up, and enjoy what you can of your time on this earth. no slave to government or corporation. people are lied to non stop in advertising. by bosses. by our elected leaders. drugs are and always have been popular... because they work. if you're so well adjusted you just can't understand those feelings, consider yourself blessed and don't try passing judgement on anybody else.
R. : 6/19/2009
It doesn't matter "why" people choose to do things... I don't smoke pot, I rarely ever drink, and i quit smoking cigarettes recently. However, all three of those things should be legal. It is perfectly legal for me to drink myself retarded (and possibly dead), but it is illegal for someone to smoke a joint?
Canon-Mac : 6/19/2009
Karen Harr's letter is certainly well written! It almost exactly parrots the position of the four board members she mentions! They are very lucky they have such a strong, eloquent supporter among a "completely unbiased" member of the taxpaying public!
Karen Harr : 6/19/2009
That was one of the best letters I've ever read in the O-R. As a former resident of North Strabane Township, I know what you are feeling. It is totally absurd. It's time teachers meet reality and begin paying for their health insurance much the same way the rest of the working class does. C-M residents need to say no to this or it will only get worse. On a side note, I have to laugh every time I hear a teacher spew his/her hatred toward the Democratic party. Some need a history lesson on who it was that built their mafioso type union into the jaugernaut it is today, It wasn't Republicans. Some are worried about Obama socializing health care. I have a question for teachers: How do you feel about socialized education?
response to "skeptic" : 6/19/2009
You are the one that is biased. Those are the facts that are in the Harr letter. You union people need to start living in reality and quit expecting the taxpaying public to take care of you. Look around and see what is happening. You are no better than anyone else and don't work harder than the taxpayers, so you shouldn't have benefits better than the majority of the taxpayers. GET REAL.
Karen Harr's letter : 6/19/2009
Excellent.. tells it like it is...no lies....just facts.....You union people have nothing to offset this. I praise any of the school board members that feel the same way. They live in reality, the rest of the board members are all union affiliated in one way or another.
Karen Harr : 6/19/2009
Oh my! Here we go again placing all the blame at the teachers' feet. Sure is uplifting that citizens that like to throw the stones in the teachers' direction never have a word of encouragement or thanks for all the hard work they do. Perhaps Mrs. Harr should remember the old adage about "walking in someone else's shoes" before she and others caste blame and critize.
C-M : 6/20/2009
Offer the buyout and the money will flow
School Taxes : 6/20/2009
At the age of 62 , home owner for 32 years, no kids. I understand someone paid for my public education. But when is enough, enough! Is public education to include: Astro turf ball fields , swimmimg pools , sports of all kinds, and paid coaches. Or, is it reading , writing and math
R, : 6/20/2009
as usual, your comment is off-topic and full of falsehoods. Your constant reliance on bible reading and prayer and rigid dogma has dulled your thinking capacity beyond help.
ns, : 6/20/2009
since alcohol is not pot, not addictive, and has many other uses besides "getting high," including being a uniquely effective medication for those suffering side-effect for cancer treatment, your post is just ignorant and irrelevant.
R says : 6/20/2009
"What anybody does with their life, including using mind-altering substances has an impact upon others, often a negative one." Just another false assumption by a religious bigot trying to make his opinions into our laws.
Karen Harr : 6/20/2009
simple answer, drop sports and start educating--isn't that what school is supposed to be?
Why : 6/20/2009
Why do some people think that everyone in the world should think and feel the same as them and if not there is something wrong with them. Why do some people think their greatness entitles them to judge everyone in the world.
Marijuania - 2 : 6/22/2009
My question was “why” to use mind-altering substances. e..., you took my question down the path of legality. No intent to go there. It may be the question you want to discuss, but that was not my question. Ted, nice try at an explanation, but it doesn't answer the question. All you did was create a list of reasons why somebody might want to use these substances to escape. Does this mean that there is so much malcontent in life that the only resort is to use mind-altering substances? You and others have have laughed at, and mocked others who find rest in their beliefs. To suggest that one is more blessed than another, and therefore doesn't need these substances is to fail in understanding how to deal with reality. You have your list of what you perceive to be a reason to use these substances. Am I right about that? Why not deal with the reality of the items on the list, rather than suggesting using some escape mechanism? Are so many members of our society so unhappy with their lives, and so confused about what to do about the realities of life that they need to use these substances as an escape mechanism. No, e..., legality of use of these isn't the issue at all. The implication with the legal argument is that because something is legal, it is the right thing to do. We all know that the relationship between these two ideas is bogus. Other forms of escape are legal already, such as excessive working. The push for more legal substances is merely one more path to travel in a futile attempt at escape. You know, and I know, that recreational use of marijuania will solve nothing. I could care less about the legality of marijuania. But, I do care much about how we all, including myself, deal with the realities of life. I have no fewer stumbles in my life than the next person. But, after many decades of life, I've learned that dealing with realities provides much more rest and contentment than using some escape mechanism.
Ok, R... : 6/22/2009
So what's the functional reason for the question? If some people use pot to escape the stresses of regular life, and you don't approve of that, does that mean they shouldn't do it? Everyone has an "escape"--- even if their life doesn't suck. It can be drugs, alcohol, books, television, walks in the woods, asian food, art, music, sex, petting a dog, fishing, making bird houses, photography, or holding your breath and spinning in a chair. If I had to guess why people smoke pot, I would probably come out in favor of the answer "being high feels good." Please don't extrapolate that to some illogical conclusion... being high ALL THE TIME isn't great... it's like being warm or cold... sometimes, being warm feels good. Other times, being cold feels good. 75 may be toasty and comfy in January, while 68 feels better in July... Being stoned on the porch with a beer, your dog, and some music may be great on a Thursday night. Being stoned on the Parkway at 9am on a Tuesday, not so much.
R : 6/22/2009
perhaps blessed wasn't the best choice of words. everybody deals with stress differently. yes, i do believe there's that much malcontent in life. hell, our whole political system is a GIANT lie. special interests bribing the congress to everyone's detriment. the nation is operating on lies. HOW DO YOU WATCH THE NEWS AND NOT WISH YOU WERE HIGH?? throw in a little personal trama. yep, i understand totally. also, i came of age in the '70's. partying was always just fun and a little weed never hurt anybody. i'm nearing 50 and still feel that way. too bad the weaker members in the herd use their habits as another excuse for coming up short in life. personally, my career won't allow it at this time. but, when i retire, i'm takin me a cheech and chong vacation to jamaica... no worries mon. but, not just yet
R says to e: : 6/23/2009
“My question was “why” to use mind-altering substances. e..., you took my question down the path of legality. No intent to go there.” R, had you read Mark Livingood’s original letter, instead of gazing into your own naval and shooting off your yap, you would know that’s where the thread started, and it was your post that was the irrelevant distraction. “No, e..., legality of use of these isn't the issue at all…. You know, and I know, that recreational use of marijuania will solve nothing.” No, you moron, it will greatly reduce our economic problems by expanding the tax base keeping hundreds of thousands of non-violent drug “offenders” out of our prisons. Law officers can spend more resources by concentrating on murderers and thieves. That was the WHOLE POINT of the discussion. And it makes sense, once law enforcement lobbies are weaned from the “war on drugs.” Why are you trying to subvert this discussion? You say “I could care less about the legality of marijuania.” I don’t believe you are telling the truth. You are protesting too much.
Karen Harr : 6/23/2009
Another solution to your school tax problem: legalize and tax pot in your school district.
Priorities : 6/26/2009
The purpose of a school distict is to educate. Years ago, if you played a sport, you got a UNIFORM. Now, you get away and home uniforms, practice uniforms, bags, etc etc. Even the teams that don't get all that, fundraise. OK, let's look at fundraising............who buys that junk........the taxpayer, so we are taxed again. A team should not need all that stuff to win Do we have our priorities straight?
