By Patricia Morris
Recently, the verbiage for the Crystal Street Tax that was voted on and passed in 1995 was sent to the Department of Justice. This verbiage clearly stated the Crystal Street Tax was to be used at Crystal Street, however, we all know when this tax was renewed in 2005, the school was closed, but the money was yet collected. While it is being said now the tax is for alternative schools in Tangipahoa Parish, and now to be used to pay teachers who originally taught school at Crystal Street, this tax should be refunded to those individuals who paid it after the school closed, yet got no benefits from it.
Although it is now said the 3-Mill Tax will be rolled back for one year, because there is enough money to pay for the Alternative School next school year, we watch to see if this will be the case, and the school system not say the tax is rolled back, but will come up with an ingenious way of secretly doing something else to cover the expenses of this alternative school. This tax will expire in 2015, and we hope when this tax is on the books to be collected in 2011, the amount will not increase. You might say, how can it? This is Tangipahoa Parish where anything is possible.
As Al Link continues to reiterate over and over again "people say we would not roll the tax back, and we want to make it clear we did," he fails to reiterate it took people complaining and threatening to get the school administration to roll back the Crystal Street Tax for one year. However, the truth of the matter is the complaining was done over several years after Crystal Street was closed, but Kolwe refused to stop collecting this same tax. Here we are, in an election year, and you want people to believe you have a word, and have found a new revelation. You do not. The public confidence in this school system is at an all time low, and your continuing to accuse me of destroying the school board gives me too much credit, so stop the lying and do what you know you must do.
Is Hammond to pay for an alternative school that is parishwide? NO!!! Should not other municipalities share in the cost of this program? YES!!! If what the school system is claiming now to be the case of these Crystal Street taxes being called an alternative tax, we feel strongly other areas from across this parish should share the cost, or come up with a more equitable manner of collecting money to support an alternative program in this school system. A single-bonding district would solve this problem.
The same holds true for the residents of the Woodbridge Subdivision in Hammond. Why would these indivuduals be assessed a tax they could not vote for? Return their money. This would be the honorable thing to do, or are you not doing so because this problem is parishwide, and if money is to be refunded, it would bankrupt the school system?