A message from Jim Waters on the JCPS tax hike

A Message from Jim Waters - https://www.facebook.com/BluegrassInstitute/videos/290842352037478/?v=290842352037478Text:

Hi everyone.

Jim Waters with the Bluegrass Institute here. 

I want to urge all you registered voters in Jefferson County to go to www.nojcpstaxhike.com  and sign the petition putting a property-tax increase passed by the school board right during COVID-19 on the November ballot. 

JCPS' $1.8 billion budget is more than twice the size of the entire Louisville Metro Council's spending plan, and it’s more than enough to adequately educate the district's 98-thousand students. 

That budget amounts to more than $18,000 for each student in the district, of which only $8,000 is actually spent on classroom instruction. This leaves more than $10,000 per student for the district to build new schools and repair existing ones.

At the very least, JCPS hasn’t made a sufficient case for raising your taxes – especially during a pandemic, when families are hurting, businesses continue to close and people throughout the district – including perhaps you or some of your neighbors and friends –  have lost their jobs and are at risk of losing their homes.

Fortunately, a couple of years ago, the General Assembly passed legislation allowing tax-recall petitions to be signed electronically. But that law does no good if we don’t use it.

So, use it today. If you’re a registered voter in Jefferson County, go to www.nojcpstaxhike.com and sign the petition.

Please be sure to give all information requested so that your petition counts and doesn’t get thrown out.

With enough valid signatures, the tax increase will be placed on the November ballot for voters to decide.

With the deadline quickly approaching and the Fourth of July upon us, don’t put this off.

Help get this issue on the November ballot by signing it today at www.nojcpstaxhike.com.

Thanks for watching, and Happy Independence Day from the Bluegrass Institute!