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As a property owner, I pay my property taxes, as required. As a citizen of the United States I pay my income taxes, as required. As a citizen of the state of Idaho I pay a state income tax, as required.

How does that money help us? Our only benefit is from the people we elect and send to Boise to represent us. The state of Idaho does not finance the education of the children of Idaho as required by law. For that reason almost, if not all, of the school districts in Idaho periodically run levies to finance their local schools.

Now we have a levy coming up that we have the opportunity to vote for or against.

Now let’s look at all this another way. If the state of Idaho uses our tax money to finance an education for every child it is going to take a heap of money from Boise to do it. We sent that money to Boise. How much of it is going to come back to a school district and how much of it will stay in Boise? On the other hand, if we put that much of our dollar into a local levy, how much of it will go to Boise? How much of it will stay in our local school district?

My education through elementary and high school was financed by friends, neighbors and other property owners. I am certainly willing to do my part for the present and future generations.

LARRY O. SMITH

Sandpoint