Last week, I sent an email asking people to file for a seat on the Chesterfield County School Board to change the direction of the educational system in the county. This was in the hope that the county’s young people would receive the education to ensure success in their future endeavors. Unfortunately, this call for civil has gone unanswered. Therefore, I would like to offer you a reason that should resonate with all of us: the condition of your wallet.
One only has to look around the county to see its economic decline. The population has been declining, and industries have been leaving. High-paying jobs are being replaced with minimum-wage positions. What we are observing is an economic death spiral.
Our politicians are telling us that they have an active program to increase “Economic Development”, but they are too short-sighted to understand the one element that is needed for this to happen, that being a highly trained and motivated workforce. This is something that the current school system is not delivering to the county. So no matter how many attempts these bureaucrats make to increase economic growth in Chesterfield County, it will fail until the school system delivers highly qualified graduates to supply this demand.
Every taxpayer in Chesterfield County should automatically see how this would benefit them. High-paying jobs mean that the tax burden for county operations will be spread out over a more extensive tax base. This would result in the County Council not raising millage rates on property to meet county operation requirements. More people paying a reasonable tax rate is better than a few paying a high one.
So, if you want to keep your taxes low in the county, you should be interested in repairing our broken school system. You can do this by being willing to sacrifice a small amount of your time and become a new member of the Chesterfield County School Board. If you do this, you can measure your success by the results reflected in your wallet.