David Poskin hit the bullseye in his letter “Highlands budget woes” (March 19, TribLIVE) when he challenged the value received for the tax dollars being spent. He wrote that last year Highlands’ tax rate was the eighth highest among Allegheny County’s 45 school districts, yet the district requested a tax increase exceeding the maximum allowed by law. Over $4 million has been spent replacing the football stadium while graduating classes continue to decline.

It’s time to wake up to reality and cut the suit to fit the cloth. We need to redefine the school board’s mission to focus on the basics of education and cut out other unnecessary expenses in lieu of raising taxes.

Like most senior citizens, our income is fixed. We do not enjoy the benefits of pay raises, merit increases, bonuses, etc.; therefore, we cannot continue to absorb additional tax increases without cutting back on our retirement lifestyle that we worked a lifetime to achieve. That’s just not fair.

Taxing of seniors on fixed incomes needs to be restructured to include a mandatory cap provision on future tax increases, and those not using the school facilities should obviously pay less than those who use them. All expenditures outside the basic education module need to be resolved either by budget reductions or by seeking alternative ways to fund them.

It’s time to star thinking outside the box.

Joe Pavlik

Tarentum

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