Bigger APS tax burden

Readers speak out on proposed property tax boost

We should not throw money into a failed system

I AM INCENSED to read, in the Nov. 8 edition of the Albuquerque Journal, that there is going to be a “special” ballot to vote on a proposed increase in property taxes to support APS.

I live in a small home; we have been fortunate to have paid off the mortgage. Consequently, instead of having my taxes paid via a bundled mortgage payment, I write a check twice a year to the Bernalillo County Treasurer’s Office and clearly see my tax payment going up every year.

Scott Elder, APS Chief Operations Officer, in the Albuquerque Journal article states that “APS taxes have not gone up since 2006.”

How untrue. My APS taxes have increased every year since 2009 when it was $548.12; in 2018, it is $696.85. The explanation for these increases, you are probably thinking, is because my property value has increased. I say that is just a disguise or scam to justify these increases and it is really an APS tax increase every year.

Instead of throwing money at a failed system, try getting to the bottom of the APS poor academic performance. I would suggest an experimental student exchange program. Send a student with poor test scores as an exchange student to a small top performing school, maybe in the Northeast, for example, and then see if after a year that student’s test scores increase. If no significant improvement, then I would attribute the problem with the student and not the educational system.

Better yet, send a teacher from APS as an exchange teacher to a school with high academic performance ratings, and see if that exchange teacher’s performance degrades that school’s academic performance. This would narrow down if the problem is with the students or with the teaching staff. One thing is certain, a person’s desire and ability to learn does not depend on a brand new school, new computers, or brand new mindwarping text books.

The problem with APS, and New Mexico’s academic performance in general, is not that they do not have enough money for facilities maintenance or educational materials, but a failure to budget and prioritize properly. …

I went to school during a time where there was a paper shortage, a beef shortage and a fuel shortage, and the only time my parents had to pay for notebooks, pens, pencils, etc. was when I was in high school and a notebook back then cost $3 and lasted the whole school year. Supplies were otherwise provided by the school district, with the exception of maybe a box of crayons in elementary school. Today, there are school supply drives every year, yet you can purchase these items for pennies. You can’t tell me that, given the current tax structure, there is not enough money for these school supplies to be provided by the school district in addition to maintaining their facilities and salaries.

It is time to stop the bleed on the property taxpayers and allow us to live without the worry that even though we may have paid off our mortgages, the government … can seize your property if your property taxes become too prohibitive and you fail to meet your tax obligation. Do we really ever own our property or rather rent it from the government?

Citizens, wake up! ELIZABETH WAGNER Albuquerque