MSTA opposes so-called Taxpayers' Bill of Rights
Date:
5/4/2006
MSTA and the other members of the Missouri Education Roundtable oppose the so-called Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights initiative taking place in the state.
Anti-tax groups are circulating petitions to put the proposal, known as TABOR, on the ballot for a public vote. TABOR is similar to a recently suspended constitutional amendment in Colorado that devastated state-supported services such as education.
The Education Roundtable opposes “Article XIV—Pertaining to Finance and Spending” for the following reasons:
- It would undermine the state’s obligation to fund public education and would likely shift the burden of funding basic services, including public education, to local communities. This could result in higher property taxes.
- It would not allow state-supported services to grow with the needs of the economy.
- It would not allow the state to prepare effectively for, or respond to, emergencies.
In Colorado, the measure limited the growth of government revenue and spending to the increase in inflation and population growth. Evidence has shown that, as a result, TABOR contributed to a deterioration of the availability and quality of nearly all major public services in that state.
This initiative petition, if approved by voters, would likely have similar negative consequences for Missouri. Please urge your friends and neighbors not to sign this petition.
In addition to MSTA, the Education Roundtable consists of the Missouri Association of Elementary School Principals, the Missouri Association of School Administrators, the Missouri Association of Secondary School Principals, the Missouri Congress of Parents and Teachers, the Missouri Federation of Teachers and School-Related Personnel, the Missouri National Education Association and the Missouri School Boards’ Association.
