RTSD taxes have increased (compounded) 54% over the last ten years. Interesting enough SAT scores for RHS are absolutely flat over the same ten year period. So we are spending $30 million more per year for the same results we had in 2002. The 3.28% tax increase which was discussed last night will extract an additional ~$2.5 million from Radnor taxpayers this August. I worry for our local businesses.

I find the forth coming tax increase disappointing, considering the difficult time we are living in. RTSD has meaningful accrued reserves built up over the last few years and it is for this very reason why I remain perplexed as to why the majority felt it necessary to take more.

I have heard people discuss their legitimate concerns about the quality of our educational system and the need to fund it adequaetly to insure or secure our property values. I do believe this to be true ...but up to a point. In economics, there is a law known as the law of diminishing returns which states that in all productive processes, adding more of one factor of production (taxes or revenue), while holding all others constant (SAT scores), will at some point yield lower per-unit returns.

Are we seeing that in the plateau in SAT scores...I don't know. I would consider it as a possiblitiy.

I also fear that at some point, the tax burdens will become so horrendous that property values will reverse. High tax costs will ultimately hurt property values.

Look at Cherry Hill.

In the world of the Left, feelings and self-righteousness trump logic and accountability. The irony is that so often the gooey "good intentions" that presumably drive the liberal agenda are actually promulgated with a ruthless contempt for the citizens forced to suffer the consequences.

It seems many in Radnor are too busy, too lazy, or too rich to care about the stewardship of their taxes. I, for one, will remember what happened here, and will work for the election of board members who believe the educational needs must be identified and justified before our dollars are extracted to feed the their "good intentions."

The bottom line is that the majority of our town has been HIJACKED my parents of school aged children..............they suck the very life out of us and then move on - when their houses are empty. Shame on all of us who let this happen, including myself. These parents have pressured and pushed their agendas and have become a political machine within the district. They stop at nothing to get what they want from the school for under the guise of a "free and fair public education". Their demands are insatiable and we need to wake up the silent majority and take back our town.

Between the Radnor School Board and the Radnor Board of Commissioner's all taxpayers in Radnor are headed for a disaster. Both entities think it's ok to keep increasing taxes while not providing for the unfunded liabilities that are in current & past contracts. NO business would survive with this type of leadership, which might explain why almost none of the RTSB or Commissioners are successful private business leaders.

Along with my fellow Republican colleagues, Pattie Booker and Chuck Madden, I have been vigorously fighting this completely unnecessary tax hike. We have drilled down deep into the numbers, and understand them well. As a result of years of overtaxing, with each passing year's more-than-needed millage now "baked into the base", the Radnor Township School District cannot help but generate surpluses, particularly in light of the aggressive expense control measures put in place over the last three years. With an anticipated surplus of $2 million just announced for the year ended 6-30-2012, we can and should afford NO TAX INCREASE this year, and then re-examine the situation in 2013-14. Even if we were to agree to fund everything currently on the table in this bloated 2012-13 budget - much of which has not been vetted, and some of which won't pass serious scrutiny when (if!) it is - we would have sufficient cash to do so without raising taxes and without jeopardizing our fund balances. The insistence on this tax hike by the board's Democratic majority defies logic.

i attended the school board meeting and then the work shop last week.

Initially, the Board could provide no clear justification for the increase and so, an amendment was proposed which included in part funding for full day kindergarten. Yet, the Board has no idea how much that would cost, how many students would be served or what the long term enrollment implications are for Radnor.

The budget discussion was extremely disappointing. Other than Board members Patricia Booker and Susan Michaelson who provided sound, fact based comments, the remainder of the comments unfortunately were not nearly as helpful. For example referring to spending as a “good investment” without detailing the actual return or saying “it’s all about the children” as if there can be no reasonable discussion regarding the cost does not reflective sufficient sensitivity or accountability to the taxpayers of Radnor.

There are also some interesting accounting concepts inherent in the budget. For example, budget surpluses are referred to as “budget remainders” and transfers between funds are listed as revenue and expenditures which obscures actual operating performance.

All of that and the Board voted to go ahead BEFORE listening to public comment.

It is really appalling. Eventually taxpayers will wake up to this and i have a feeling it is beginning to happen.

If the Board members have any sense of their duty as stewards of taxpayers’ money, this budget should not be approved.

I was amazed watching the 4-17 School Board meeting and the 5-8 Budget Workshop. Finance Committee Chairman Armstrong's presentation was a wall of words that made no sense. He ignored reasonable questions seeking fact based, numerically vetted explanations. Frankly, I felt insulted.

When asked about the treatment of the $2,000,000 projected budget surplus (ridiculously called a “budget remainder”), not part of the numeric presentation at the April meeting, Mr. Armstrong's response was that the questioner, Mrs. Michaelson, didn’t understand. He never explained why the taxpayers should pay an additional $2,000,000 in real estate taxes when we now know that there will be $2,000,000 available from this year. He indicated that she was mixing things up. What total nonsense! If the head of the Finance Committee cannot explain why taxpayers should be assessed for unvetted budget items and feels that we should a ignore newly identified surplus in the same amount, it is clear that he has no business being the head of the Finance Committee.

And what is the problem with the other Board members who support this tax increase? They give no indication that they even understand the discussion, and that's a problem all its own! They seem to be merely following Mr. Armstrong's mumbo jumbo. Hugely disappointing. It is extremely clear to me that the operating mandate is “we can, so we will”. I am embarrassed to be a Radnor resident, and outraged to be a Radnor taxpayer.

I watched the budget video online. And while I don't agree with the increase I am sad and embarrassed because of the actions of two rude board members. They yell and disrespect the other board members--we don't allow our students to bully each, same should be said for board members. These crazed antics are memorialized for all to see for eternity. It is an embarrassment for the community. It is very tacky, sad and mean. I guess one could call such actions "passion" but please a little more class. Each side made valid points to their argument. Agree to disagree and do what is best for the community and the students. If you win the argument great, if you loose the argument, loose with dignity.