Some schools that closed their doors during the COVID-19 pandemic should offer parents a tax refund, economist and commentator Stephen Moore said Tuesday.
In an opinion piece posted by Fox News, Moore derided the Biden administration plan to give stimulus money to schools that have been shuttered since last March.
“The people who deserve a break are the tens of millions of taxpayers who paid for public educational services not rendered,” Moore wrote.
Moore pointed to the case of a school board in Naperville, Illinois, that distributed $10 million back to taxpayers this year.
“The typical family will receive a refund of $200 to $500. Good for Naperville,” he wrote of a district where the shutdown reportedly generated a savings of roughly $20 million.
“Naperville school board member Paul Leong, a local businessman, told me: ‘It's amazing that we are the only school district in the area or in the state that has given taxpayers some of their money back,’” Moore wrote. “Or in the whole country, for that matter.”
“Why aren't more school boards in areas where school buildings were shut down providing families and businesses with property tax rebate checks?” Moore asked.
Moore argued that the lost revenue from the pandemic that hit some low-income school budgets is one thing.
“But in suburbs where property taxes primarily fund schools, the savings should be similar to what Naperville saw. The near-record 12% nationwide increase in home values over the past year means more, not fewer, revenues for schools,” he wrote.
“Perhaps it is time for flash-fire local tax revolts led by homeowners demanding some of their money back,” he demanded. “If school authorities claim no budget savings, school boards and mayors have a fiduciary obligation to require full audits to determine where all the money went.”
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