"If a pay raise of $2,000 to $4,400 a year would be decided at a local election, I might give up a fishing trip to vote for my pay raise."

On Saturday, April 20, people in Terrebonne Parish will vote in a special election called by the Terrebonne Parish School Board.

To be decided is a proposition to increase the parish sales tax rate by 1 cent on the dollar to fund a pay increase for teachers, certain non-instructional school personnel and bus drivers. Many school administrators and all School Board members are excluded from this proposed raise. In addition, computers and building repairs are also to be funded, but 83 percent of the tax proceeds are to go to teachers and school employee raises. While there are both positive and negative effects of this proposal, I have reservations about the way this tax is coming before the voters in a special election. But first, let's look at the effects of this proposal.

I am not a lawyer, but the way the proposition is written, passage of the tax means that teachers and principals will get large pay raises, from $4,000 to $4,400, less for other school employees. It seems difficult to see how the funds could be legally funneled to any other uses. In Louisiana, we have reason to worry about approving a tax for one purpose, only to find out that those in charge spent the money some other way. I am happy to say that it would be difficult for the School Board to do that with this money.

Will a pay raise increase the quality of classroom teachers in Terrebonne Parish? Undoubtedly.

I am married to a public school teacher originally from Calcasieu Parish. When we married, Lisa began to teach in a local school district. Several years ago, she noticed that there was a position available in her field in St. Charles Parish, where the pay was about $6,000 higher than where she had been teaching. She applied and was hired. Was pay a factor in her choice? Of course it was.

Enough of the better teachers in an area will change parishes to make some improvement in the school system. Higher pay also keeps better teachers in the classroom.

Of course, an increase in the parish sales tax rate by another penny will cut into the sales of retailers in the parish. The amount will be small, but significant. Just as some teachers change parishes for higher pay, some shoppers shop elsewhere for lower taxes. It may not be Terrebonne residents shopping out of the parish, but there will be a drop-off in the number of people from surrounding parishes shopping in Terrebonne. The question is:
How big is the decrease in sales? It would take a very time consuming study to answer that question. I would bet that total sales in the parish would not be affected a great deal, but some particular businesses would be hit hard by a sales tax increase, particularly those in the Schriever and Gray areas and those that sell expensive items.

Now for my reservations. Local taxing authorities, such as school boards, usually must place tax proposals before the voters to get approval. They have learned that passing a tax is more difficult in general elections - when most voters are likely to show up. But in special elections, only a handful of voters cast ballots.

With only a small percentage of the voters showing up at a special election, those who do show up are largely people with a greater special interest in the outcome, such as school employees.

If a pay raise of $2,000 to $4,400 a year would be decided at a local election, I might give up a fishing trip to vote for my pay raise. If it's not my pay at stake but my taxes might increase by about $70 to $200 per year, as with this proposal, I would probably go fishing. If I consider that the chances of stopping the tax from passing by just my own vote is less than one in a million, that Saturday fishing trip seems even better. My chances of catching a few sac-a-lait and bass are much higher than changing an election outcome (my fishing buddies might disagree, but hey, I've caught a few fish and haven't gone fishing close to a million times). So the people who stand to get a pay raise if the tax passes will make it to the polls, and the ones who pay the taxes will go fishing. That sure improves the chances of getting the tax passed.

In Louisiana, the state pays for the costs of general elections, and the balloting costs the School Board nothing. For a special election with only school issues on the ballot, the School Board pays to hold the election. Why is the School Board paying extra to hold their election next Saturday instead of next November, when they can be guaranteed a large voter turnout? It can only be because they do not want everyone at the polls.

Improving the education of Terrebonne's children is important to me (I want the to have a good foundation when they come to my class at Nicholls State University), but a lesson in manipulating election outcomes is a lesson in democratic values and ethics they do not need to learn.

Perhaps, the way to make sure that the right lesson is taught is for folks in Terrebonne to make sure that the get to the polls next Saturday and either vote for or against the tax. The fish will wait.