Let’s stop the bullying in our schools, the corporate bullying. Duke Energy is seeking to reduce the amount it pays in taxes by 40 million dollars, devastating the budgets of 700 school districts in Southwest Ohio.
Duke argues that because of the economic crisis of the country, its property has lost value and that its taxes should be lowered. Until the taxes are lowered, the company is withholding 20 million in taxes now due.
The Cincinnati Public School District, the largest in the region, will lose 7.7 million dollars as a result of the cuts. The school districts have no time before the opening of the school year to seek new property tax increases from home and business owners to make up the difference.
What will this mean for schools? Well, unless it is stopped, it will mean deep cuts in classes, teacher layoffs, even larger class sizes, and other drastic cutbacks. The School Districts have united to oppose Duke’s refusal to pay its taxes but Duke intends to fight. Duke explains that after all has to put its stockholders before the welfare of children.
Duke Energy’s attack on our public schools and our children demonstrates the problem of a society dominated by corporations and locked in the capitalist economy with its inevitable economic crises. The corporations, acting in their own interests, shift their problems onto the backs of working people, or even onto the narrow shoulders of the children.
We should not permit Duke to get away with this. We might begin by calling upon the state to take over Duke Energy and other energy corporations in Ohio, and make them, as they once were in many places, public utilities. We should take over Duke and bring it under public control both to protect our children and to begin to phase out energy policies based on coal and petroleum which pollute our planet.
Let’s put these corporate bullies in their place. Our schools and our children must come before the corporations.
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