Act 1 of the PA legislature requires School Boards throughout Pennsylvania to place before the voters a referendum question on the May 15, 2007 Primary Election ballot. The question will ask the voters in the T/E School District if they wish to impose a Local Income Tax to offset property taxes. Even though we are required by law to place such a question on the ballot, this School Board believes that this tax shift would have a negative effect on our schools and on our community.

The T/E School Board is responsible to assure that the School District provides an excellent educational program at a reasonable cost to its taxpayers. T/E’s academic performance is among the very best in Pennsylvania, as measured by any number of awards and by its student performance on national tests. Equally important, T/E’s property tax rates consistently rank among the lowest in Pennsylvania, when measured by property tax dollars as a percentage of housing values. One need only look to surrounding school districts to see that the T/E School District’s educational results and property tax rates demonstrate that T/E provides an outstanding educational value. This positive educational value, in turn, supports the strong property values in our community.

We are cognizant of the burden that increasing taxes place on homeowners in T/E. We have taken a number of steps to minimize these burdens. Over the past several years, we have:

We hereby renew and reinforce the need for continued long-term and responsible cost management. We will continue to seek out ways to control and reduce costs while continuing to provide an excellent educational program for our children.

Our emphasis on cost management underscores our belief that the true path to property tax control is through cost control, not through shifting the source of tax revenue.

The property tax system, while not perfect, is generally accepted as an equitable, reliable, and efficient school funding mechanism. Shifting to a local income tax system would result in needless additional costs and will put school programs at risk due to variability in the income tax base. Furthermore, we are reluctant to endorse a tax system that might pit segments of our community against one another.

The T/E Local Tax Study Commission, comprised of District residents who reflected the age, socioeconomic and occupational diversity of the T/E School District, unanimously recommended that voters vote NO to any change in the current property tax structure.

After months of deliberation and public input, the members of the T/E School Board recommend to the voters of Tredyffrin and Easttown Townships that they vote NO on the Income Tax question on May 15, 2007.