Voters said no to a Northwest ISD property tax hike, and now it’s sneaking back
Why not think of the unborn?
The editorial cartoon by Jack Ohman on the Nov. 28 Opinion page (6A) is just dripping with hypocrisy.
The first thought that came to mind was an abortion rights activist screaming, “My body, my choice.” While you condemn the choice of the anti-masker, there is silence when the life of an unborn child is taken. You might say that an anti-masker is endangering the lives of others. But the unborn life has no voice.
Regardless of whether you agree with others’ decisions, life is about the choices we make.
- Lee Shetler, Arlington
Doing an election end run
Voters turned down Northwest Independent School District bond propositions totaling nearly $1 billion. The voters know better than the school board what they cannot afford: higher property taxes on top of what they already pay in an economy devastated by COVID-19 and subsequent job losses or reductions in pay.
So, will the district respect the voters’ decision and do a workaround? No, the district will have another election in May in which approval is almost guaranteed because so many fewer voters will turn out.
If the district wants all that money, it should tell the people exactly what they are getting for their increased taxes. Let’s move all bond propositions to November elections to improve voter turnout.
Or is that why they are usually in May?
- John Ebert, Granbury
No time to let down our guard
The day before Thanksgiving, I received a text message from the Tarrant County Public Health Department. It cautioned residents to wear masks and avoid large crowds. It also reminded us to monitor symptoms and to “get tested.”
But I later learned that all public health testing sites were closed Thursday and Friday and there would be no updated reports about new cases of COVID-19 in Tarrant County until Sunday. All this as we are experiencing a surge.
It is incomprehensible that the department would take time off, shut down testing sites and halt updates during this crisis.
A thorough review of its operating policies is in order.
- Sterling Lauer, Fort Worth
Unnecessary losses for America
Numbers don’t lie. We have lost more than 260,000 Americans to COVID-19. Some say we have done a great job, but the numbers tell another story.
If we’d done what Australia did and achieved a comparable death rate, we would have lost only about 11,000 Americans to COVID-19. Using the same formula with Japan — about 5,300. South Korea — about 3,300. New Zealand — about 1,700. Germany — about 64,000.
We are among the worst of any nation in the world at protecting our citizens. The lack of a coordinated response to the virus because of the ego of one man, his cronies and their followers who refused to recognize the seriousness of the situation, believe the experts and then take leadership for protecting Americans is both incomprehensible and reprehensible.
Think how many lives could have been saved by just following the basic rules (mask-wearing, social distancing, handwashing). Hundreds of thousands of families will spend this Christmas missing loved ones because our leadership simply couldn’t lead.
- Don Kinard, Arlington
This story was originally published December 3, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Voters said no to a Northwest ISD property tax hike, and now it’s sneaking back."