Financial freedom from a local perspective is largely driven and controlled by local taxation. Most notably property taxes - School District, County and City - are a major expense of Rock County homeowners. Most people in Rock County know their property taxes are high, but few overburdened taxpayers know, Rock County’s property taxes are higher than 96% of ALL counties in the US! This is based on the percentage of income, or people’s ability to pay (Source: https://www.tax-rates.org/wisconsin/rock_county_property_tax). Suffice it to say that all local taxing authorities need to ‘tighten their belts,’ just as the citizens are forced to do in today’s inflation-ridden economy. ...

What is the truth about the relative performance of our Rock County school districts? School districts and DPI generally do not like district performance judged based upon the DPI scorecard results. They say it is not fair to compare one district’s performance vs another, nor is it wise to compare a district’s scorecard results from one year to the next. While there may be some truth to this, the only way people have a way to compare performance trends over time, or between districts is with a consistent test given to all students in all districts. The test DPI uses the Forward Exam, which is given to all students in the state (less the few students who do not take the test). ...

This November, in Rock County, four school districts will again come to the property owners seeking funds to maintain their operations and facilities. There is no doubt that voters are feeling the economic pinch this fall, and some of them will vote in the negative on school funding questions simply because their budgets are so tight. School officials argue referendums must be passed and taxes increased or the system will disintegrate. ...

Educational freedom refers to the ability of parent’s to select the best educational opportunity for their children. It recognizes that all children are unique, full of potential, and deserving of a high-quality education that meets their individual needs.  For someone to be truly free, they must receive a high-quality education which allows them to maximize their full potential in life.   Recently RCF announced the top performing public school districts and schools in Rock County.    RCF recognizes and thanks teachers and students for their commitment to excellence, and to educational freedom! Financial freedom from a local perspective is largely driven and controlled by local taxation.  Most notably property taxes - School District, County and City - are a major annual expense for Rock County homeowners and indirectly, renters.  With school districts being the highest portion of one’s property taxes. Most people in Rock County know their property taxes are high, but few realize Rock County’s property taxes are higher than 96% of all counties in the US!  This is based on the percentage of personal income, or people’s ability to pay (Source)....

What happened in the August primary election has me a bit perplexed. I’m not referring to the candidates who won their respective partisan races at this point. I’m wondering about the results of the two state referendum questions that effectively continue to allow the Governor to spend federal monies received by the state with virtually no state or local oversight. ...