The speakers were Lenoir City Police Chief, Don White, and Director Of Lenoir City Schools, Jeanne Barker. Both were there to promote the sales tax increase on the November ballot. Both gave brief speeches on the virtues of higher taxes. However, neither ever explained or gave any accounting of what the schools would do with an additional two million dollars per year.

The flyer above is what Ms. Barker passed out to the folks at the meeting. Take notice that they flyer also fails to account for what the schools would do with the extra two million dollars per year.

Just before the presentation began, Ron Jordan, introduced congressional candidate, Tim Burchett, and allowed him to make a few comments. You all know I don't care for Burchett, but he sure messed up the tax talk before it got underway. He said as Knox County mayor, the Knox County school board was also working on school safety and first thing they wanted to do was build fences around the schools. Burchett said he told them that's a waste of time and money, "a fence won't even stop a minivan much less a bullet."

Fences have been one of Lenoir City officials main proposals and one of the largest, initial expenses when they get all that new tax money. Burchett knocked that idea in the head.

Neither White nor Barker brought up the fence idea during their presentation. They discussed security cameras and systems, school SRO officers and psychologist and so on. Nothing that would remotely require an extra two million dollars per year. The flyer above, which by the way, Ms. Barker said she paid for herself, depicts how little a half cent sales tax would add to the cost of things. Ms. Barker herself stated that the tax increase would only add about ten cents to a twenty dollar bucket of chicken.

What Ms. Barker didn't mention is that you're already paying a dollar and eighty cents in taxes on that bucket of chicken, you're already paying the Rain Tax on that bucket of chicken, you're paying nearly fifty cents a gallon tax on the gas you bought to get to the chicken store, property tax on your home to have a place to eat that bucket of chicken, and so on and so on.

Lenoir City schools are in such dire need for so much more money, this might be a good time to look back and admit what a huge mistake it was to spend well over a million dollars for the old three story bank building on Broadway for a half dozen staff members. How many safety measures could have been put in place with a million plus? I suspect the cost of utilities alone would have gone a long way in paying for security measures. Maybe if Lenoir City schools are in such dire need for so much more money, slapping the Rain Tax on all the school facilities wasn't the smartest idea. How many safety measures could have been paid for if they weren't paying the Rain Tax?

The sales tax increase, just like the Rain Tax, is unnecessary. If passed, it will no more all go for school safety than the Rain Tax has gone to storm water and flood control. Based on the responses I heard at last Thursday's meeting, there's very little support for another tax hike in Lenoir City. Voters are way smarter that most politicians give them credit for.

I have no doubt all schools could use extra securities measures in the days we're living in. But it's incumbent on those in charge to use the tax dollars they already take from the citizens responsibly.