Letters: Why retired people over 65 shouldn’t be forced to pay for schools
Retired people should not have to pay for schools
I believe that any retired person who makes less than $70,000 and is at least 65 years of age should not have to pay any school/property tax.
Disabled people included.
Our View: Property tax increase is about to hit Ohio seniors – hard. Freezing taxes will help.
My local school board has a school bond issue on the November ballot that could increase my property taxes close to an additional $300 per year. I struggle to pay my property tax without this possible increase.
Philip Royer, Troy
What about me and my taxes?
I want to know why the legislature has to limit the people getting a property tax freeze to 70 years old and $70,000.
Letters: Why those 65 and older, childless should not have to pay school property
I have to work in retirement to be able to afford my diabetic medications under the Medicare "donut hole," and that work causes me to go above the $70,000 limit. And I am 68 years old.
I have owned my home for 28 years, and if stuff doesn't stop going up beyond my means to pay, I may be forced out of my home too.
Sandra Douglass, Columbus
Funding schools is a social responsibility
Although I believe that reducing property taxes for older Columbus residents is worth considering, Robert Hopkins goes overboard in his critique of how schools are funded.
Hopkins is correct in his critique of property taxes as a school funding mechanism.
The Ohio Supreme Court ruled 25 years ago that funding Ohio schools through property taxes was unconstitutional. Our Republican-dominated General Assembly's response?
Crickets.
Culture wars.
Sustained and reprehensible laziness. Brazen defiance of a court ruling while trumpeting that everyone else should obey laws.
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However, Hopkins also says that it's "unfair to use property taxes from senior property owners or any other property owner that have no children subsidize our schools." I disagree. Funding schools is a social responsibility.
Highways, public transportation, and emergency services are all paid for by taxes, regardless of whether or not a citizen drives a motor vehicle, rides a bus, or needs the assistance that first responders provide. These functions of government are fundamental parts of a healthy community.
The same goes for schools. Educating a community's children is a social good that has considerable benefits both now and in the future. To say that only parents should pay for schools is to say that people should be charged only for public services that they directly use. This is absurd on its face.
I’m certain that Hopkins wants an ambulance or fire truck to be available if he needs them, regardless of whether he ever will.
Steve Abbott, Columbus
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Should Ohioans over 65 pay for schools just like other property owners?
