I hope that everyone who lives in the Alpine School District is paying very close attention to what is happening and will remember this the next time the school district tells us that we have to raise our property taxes. It was just a few short months ago that the Alpine School District told us that "the sky is falling" and that we had to dramatically raise our property taxes to build new schools. Only 20 percent of voters voted, but just over half of those who voted voted for the tax increases. So about 10 percent of the population raised the taxes on 100 percent of the property owners. Now the parents of schoolchildren in Orem and Pleasant Grove are up in arms because the construction of new schools will mean that some children will have to go to different schools. And every parent knows that no school is as good as the school their kids go to. Other parents are upset because building new schools might lead to program cuts in existing schools.
I know that the school district would never give back any of this money they now think is rightfully theirs, but they should. They should just admit that they made a mistake and cancel the latest tax increases. And the laws need to be changed so that in the future, people will only be allowed to vote to raise taxes on their own property and not on anyone else's. Since that will never happen, please, everyone, remember to vote "no" the next time the school district tells us they have to have more of our money.Robert Higginson
Orem