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Businesses won’t pay Nisky school taxes, and homeowners can’t

    I am about to pay my Niskayuna school tax bill. Besides being left with an empty bank account, I am confused about the raise in the tax rate to 4.22 percent when we voted on a budget proposal in May calling for a 3.95 percent increase.
    Years back, if memory serves me, there was controversy about whether it was ethical or even legal for a school district to maintain a surplus while increasing its tax levy on the residents. The arguments presented for not spending the surplus and avoiding the increase are baseless.
    Niskayuna taxpayers are not stupid. They know that Mohawk Commons does not contribute to our schools; that KAPL contributes little, if anything, on that prime River Road property; that GE has lawyered down its property assessments to a ridiculous level; that residential property values have been going in the tank without a corresponding decline in assessments; that when prospective home buyers see the taxes they will have to pay, they opt for more affordable communities.
    Why is the Niskayuna school board and administration not prepared for these economic realities? They should apply the surplus ($4 million-plus) and give us a break for a change. If needs arise in the future, do what the rest of us have to do when we are low on funds: cut spending.
    The children of Niskayuna will not suffer immeasurably if things tighten up a bit. They will likely learn and perform at the same levels as always. What is more likely if these increases continue, is that there will be even fewer of us to take up the slack.

    JOHN KARL
    Niskayuna

http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00704&AppName=1

Working together works!

As much as I feel for EVERYONE getting slammed with taxes the reality is, at least in Niskayuna your kids graduate!

Schenectady City kids have one of the worst systems (violent and underachieving) yet the taxpayers pay more than those in Niskayuna. Honestly, at least the school taxes in Nisky are going into a system that works.

I really wish my City tax dollars were going into a school system of value.

Niskayunans would do well to look a little more closely at their government's doings. People get complacent when things are seemingly going well, but something isn't right there and hasn't been for quite a while.
Look at Colonie. Everything seemed fine, on the surface, until it obviously wasn't fine.

Quoted from rachel72

As much as I feel for EVERYONE getting slammed with taxes the reality is, at least in Niskayuna your kids graduate!

Schenectady City kids have one of the worst systems (violent and underachieving) yet the taxpayers pay more than those in Niskayuna. Honestly, at least the school taxes in Nisky are going into a system that works.

I really wish my City tax dollars were going into a school system of value.

Great point!!!!

I understand your pain, rachel. There actually are places with high taxes that have people lining up to live there. I have a relative who moved to Westchester County because of the schools. Of course, they also get low crime and effective delivery of services like snow and garbage removal. We in Schenectady get to pay sky high taxes for the privilege of seeing our money spent on Fort Downtown, a private establishment for members only, which will only admit the connected.
To be fair to some toiling away in our school system, I don't know of ANY school system that is successful when so many of the students are coming from that kind of hard-core underclass. Not charter schools - they get to remove the students they don't want and teach the rest. Not private schools - they have parents who want the students to succeed or they wouldn't be there. And they kick out non-performers also. So SOME of the teachers and staff in our schools deserve credit even with the poor results we get. Not all of them, just some of them.