The following was submitted as a letter to the editor of the Lebanon Daily News.
 

Mauree Gingrich’s Guest Opinion on February 10, 2008, is clear proof that she remains part of the political establishment that continues to try to dupe the public rather than face the known financial issues of our state educational system. 

Every member of the General Assembly knows that the vast majority of homeowners want all property taxes eliminated and made illegal by law. We have shown that we will reject any “partial relief” as a political ploy. Leaving a portion of property tax in place is like a surgeon leaving a little bit of cancer in a patient. It will only grow back, only worse than before. 

Of course the money to fund education must come from some form or a combination of taxes. There have been several viable education revenue proposals from the Commonwealth Foundation, Sam Rohrer, and others but those who want to protect the “golden property tax goose” have done everything they can to defeat them. 

Mauree stated with pride that she voted to use all the gambling proceeds to give seniors property tax relief. What she doesn’t say is that this is simply a scam to buy votes in her upcoming election. Also, she ignores the fact that using the proceeds in this way reneges on the promise that lawmakers made to use the gambling proceeds for tax relief for ALL Pennsylvanians, not just seniors. 

I do not trust for one minute that Mauree, and those in the House who side with her, have any intention of eliminating property taxes nor will they do anything to address the cost side of the problem. 

The solution to capping and managing the totally out of control education costs and to reducing the 500+ districts to a reasonable and efficient number is not rocket science. The reason that these obvious measures have been ignored for years is also obvious; most legislators do not have the courage to risk losing votes from the education sector by making tough but necessary decisions. 

Mauree promises to continue to search for a “better way”. She has had five years to study the most pressing issue in Pennsylvania. Since she has not devised a workable solution yet, chances are she won’t find one anytime soon. A “better way” for the 101st district is to elect a new Representative in 2008 and give him or her a chance to address this huge and growing problem.
 

Stan Alekna is a founding member of Vote For Integrity based in Lebanon County, PA.

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