So you were totally fine with taking money from the community to help put your kids through school, but as soon as it’s your turn to contribute, you suddenly think that the system is unfair.

Again, the purpose of taxes is promoting the general welfare. It is in ALL of our best interest that ALL of the children in our county have access to education.

Fair enough. If you believe that there is excessive waste in our education department, I encourage you (and applaud you for taking the initiative!) to find it.

My two cents? It costs each taxpayer in our county roughly $2,400/year to keep our schools operational. Considering the alternative, I think that is a bargain and am more than happy to pay that tax.

f I were paying tuition to a private school, I’d probably want to see their budget as well. I don’t know how much Pensacola Christian and Trinitas get from church revenue and donations. But, Trinitas doesn’t operate a church and I’d be surprised if either receives 44% of the budget (which is the approximate amount of your example) from church revenue/donations.

I reviewed, many years ago, the school budget for Escambia County and even then, there were duplications of functions, thus wasting money.

Consider; the state lottery was sold to voters on the idea that it would add to, not take away, from education and here we are, millions of dollars later and it’s not enough. There seems to be a residential building boom in the county yet, where’s the boom to school tax revenue? Remember how we needed the Local Option Sales Tax for schools? Still not enough.

I am simply saying we should scrutinize the allocation of funds, just as we would any other investment. If $20k per student, per year is the appropriate amount, so be it. I think we can do better.

“If I’m wrong, please correct me”

Okay. You’re comparing the total budget for public schools to the tuition of private schools.

If School A receives $200 of funding from local taxes, and School B receives $150 from tuition, $90 from donations, and $30 from church funding, would you still argue that School B has the lower budget since tuition is lower?

If you go get your car serviced and are told the oil change is going to be $200 because the servicer has multiple locations and needs to pay for those other locations and employees, do you pay the $200? OR, do you go to the competition and pay $80 or less for the same service?

In general, I don’t believe the Teachers and School Staff are the problem. But governments never, EVER have “enough” money.