It has become apparent to me (and others) in the last couple of weeks since my column ran that many people — maybe most people — don’t really understand how the sales tax is divided between the state, local governments, and schools in Tennessee.
Normally, that wouldn’t be a big deal. Â Right now though, in Oak Ridge Tennessee, it IS a big deal, because accusations are flying back and forth about whether a sales tax approved in 2004 is being used to pay debt service on the bonds for our new high school. Â It is, but it’s not quite that simple.
Fortunately, an informed local citizen — Cathy Toth — has come up with a brief presentation that explains the situation very well, in a graphic format that’s easy to understand. Â Well, at least as easy as this one gets. Â Check it out here:Â What Now May 2012
You can spin it all you like but the bottom line is that the OR schools contributed their sales tax share until they abruptly stopped in 2011. Why did they continue that long if the BOE thought they were not obligated to do so? Did a light just suddenly come on?
The fact of the matter is that the BOE blundered in their attempt to gain more income by renigging on their obligation. Trust and credibility have been thrown out the window by the BOE and the really tough thing to see is they simply don’t seem to give a damn about that, citing time after time different versions of their stance. I have lost all confidence in the BOE.