Like Tom Petty Said…”The Waiting is the Hardest Part
Honesty is the best policy….
September 16, 2019 was the start of my journey towards health. I had just celebrated my 24th (umm…let’s be real my 43rd) birthday. I knew that I needed to make some changes in order to do all the things I wanted to do and to have the energy I needed to be able to care for my family, staff, and students. Being a servant leader by nature means that I am always focused on how I can support others.
I spent sometime soul searching and thinking about my “Why”…what would be different about this attempt to lose weight, what is the key to maintaining a healthy body. I landed on a few things…some might seem silly, but they are things that are keeping me focused. I want to be able to water ski again. It has been about 10 years since I water skied, and my boys are now at that age where they need to see someone model it so they will try to water ski. I wanted to wear a pair of jeans with no stretch in them. Let’s be honest the stretch jeans are way more comfortable, and I will wear them, but I wanted to make the choice…not my booty! As I am entering middle age, I have seen how being healthy positively impacts the energy, activity, and zest for life of elderly folks. People in my family live well into their 90s (Grandma will be turning 99 this week), so I want to create the conditions for my best life possible. All of these “Why’s” are motivating and driving me, and I down 37-38 pounds (depends on the day). I have been eagerly awaiting the big 4-0, maybe because it is a friendly number (educators- you will get this reference), or because it feels like a big milestone.
At this point you might be wondering why is there a picture of Europe on my blog… the past two weeks, I have been in the dreaded plateau. Three pounds, so close, yet so far away. The lesson I learned was, trust the program and work through the process. In my mind, I wanted to have lost 40 pounds in 4 months…tomorrow is weigh day so we will see what it brings. During these past 2 weeks, I was able to practice my skills of patience and knowing that everything has a time and season. Patience is something that I use in my daily practice at school, and it tends to come more naturally as I am planting seeds to encourage folks to grow, when it comes to myself it is another story. We all have goals, they should be audacious, and when we aren’t hitting our goals in the time we expected, it can be discouraging. This week, my mantra is going to be progress not perfection. Each day is a new opportunity to take another step towards being my best self!
The purpose of taxing allows for the individuals to collectively support the public service institutions. “The term tax serves as a firm reminder to people that they have been given personal and mandatory responsibility to divert a certain amount of their wealth—past, present, or future—to become part of the revenue” (Brimley, Vertegen, & Garfield, 2012, p. 114). An effective tax system requires that every person pay some taxes to the government. When taxing individuals it is important to consider equity issues. “First, horizontal equity requires that those taxpayers in similar circumstances should be treated equally. Second, vertical equity requires that taxpayers in different circumstances should be treated according to those differences” (Brimley, Vertegen, & Garfield, 2012, p. 115).
The public service sector is dependent upon the private wealth in order to survive. Ensuring that taxpayers have an understanding and buy-in of what their taxes will fund is imperative, or they could lobby to lower or eliminate certain taxes , which could result in negatively impacting public services. “Taxation theory requires diversification with a broad tax base—such as income, sales, and property—so that an individual’s “escape” from a particular kind of tax does not mean complete exemption from paying a tax of any kind. (Brimley, Vertegen, & Garfield, 2012, p. 116)
5 criteria for evaluating taxes
Equity and Ability-to-Pay: “Taxes are considered fair if they contain features of progressivity with the largest percentage falling on individuals with higher incomes. (Brimley, Vertegen, & Garfield, 2012, p. 117). Using a progressive tax structure causes individuals who earn more to proportionally pay more into the system.
Adequacy: “Maintenance of the extensive services of government requires large amounts of tax revenue“ (Brimley, Vertegen, & Garfield, 2012, p. 117). A tax system is considered adequate when it provides enough revenue to meet the public service demands.
Cost of Collection: “To the extent possible, taxes should have relatively low collection and administrative costs for both the government and the individual” (Brimley, Vertegen, & Garfield, 2012, p. 117). The government is interested in the net revenue from the taxes collected.
Predictability and Stability: Predictability of stable sources of revenue allow the government to make more accurate budget predictions, which allow for appropriate funding of all public services (Brimley, Vertegen, & Garfield, 2012).
Difficult to Evade: Evading taxes is when an individual willfully elects to not pay taxes. “Shifting taxes to the point that the impact of a tax (the point of tax imposition or the person who receives the bill) is different from the incidence of that tax (the person who finally pays the tax) makes taxation extremely delicate and difficult to regulate” (Brimley, Vertegen, & Garfield, 2012, p. 118).
Types of Taxes
Sales Tax: “Produce large amounts of revenue and is one of the most transparent ways to collect taxes, but its use without exclusion of necessary goods and services tends to overburden poor families” (Brimley, Vertegen, & Garfield, 2012, p. 129). Revenues generated from sales taxes increase during good economy as more individuals are spending and decrease during tough financial times.
Income Tax: “The personal income tax is usually a progressive tax levied on the income of a person received during the period of one year” (Brimley, Vertegen, & Garfield, 2012, p. 127). Income tax includes personal and corporate income taxes. This tax is a progressive tax, where individuals and corporations that earn more are taxed at a higher percentage rate.
Property Tax: “Property taxes were the first kind of school taxes, and they still constitute almost the complete local tax revenue for schools” (Brimley, Vertegen, & Garfield, 2012, p. 130). Property taxes are a reliable source of revenues for the schools, and are considered to be stable and are nearly impossible to avoid paying.
Excise Tax: “An excise tax, also called a sumptuary tax, is sometimes imposed by the government with the primary purpose of helping to regulate or control a certain activity or practice not deemed to be in the public interest” (Brimley, Vertegen, & Garfield, 2012, p. 134). Some examples are alcohol and tobacco. The 2019 Tax Resource reported in California, the merchant is taxed, but often they pass the cost of this tax on to the consumer.
Lottery Tax: “Thomas Jefferson called the lottery a “wonderful thing, it lays taxation only on the willing.” (Brimley, Vertegen, & Garfield, 2012, p. 136). Individuals voluntarily purchase lottery tickets, but often this system is seen as a regressive tax structure because the individuals that spend them most are the ones who earn the lowest income.
Highest Ranked Tax System: Based upon the criteria, the income tax collection would be the highest ranked. It allows individuals to pay on a progressive scale, which supports being equitable.. Essentially, people are paying what they can afford versus everyone paying a flat tax rate. The collection of a flat tax would more drastically impact an individual who has a lower income. In terms of adequacy, collecting income taxes is a steady source of revenue for the government. The challenge that arises with income taxes are the loopholes, individuals can evade paying taxes (Brimley, Vertegen, & Garfield, 2012).
Lowest Ranked Tax System: The lottery tax would be the least effective tax to collect. It is dependent upon individual whims to purchase tickets, and is prone to fluctuations making it difficult to predict. “Since lotteries only generate a small percentage of total state allocations, school administrators need to be concerned about relying on this source because of the uncertainty of receipts” (Brimley, Vertegen, & Garfield, 2012, p. 142). The lottery tax is not an equitable tax because of the regressive nature of it, and in terms of adequacy, it does not generate enough funds to make a significant impact in the budget.
Best Tax Structure for Education: “Most states still use the income tax, the sales tax, and the property tax as their most reliable and lucrative sources of revenue” (Brimley, Vertegen, & Garfield, 2012, p. 118). Considering the needs of equitable funding in all districts, and the need to balance out the inequities that property tax funding can create, using income based tax collection to fund schools seems like the best conclusion. Income based collection is equitable to all taxpayers because it is a progressive tax structure. The challenge arises that in a low socio-economic area, or rural area, the adequacy of funding might not be present. Taxes would have to be centralized and distributed based on the need to create an equitable education funding system. Currently, as the job market is evolving, many employers are moving towards having staff be “independent contractors, “ which could create several loopholes, as individuals do not pay the appropriate amount of taxes. in terms of adequacy of funding.
Property taxes are able direct form of taxes that are easily collected with most taxpayers understanding the purpose. few. “The property tax at the local level has proved to be a good and reliable source of revenue for operating schools and providing many other services of city, town, and county government” (Brimley, Vertegen, & Garfield, 2012, p. 130). After much reflection, it appears that property taxes are still an adequate source of funding for schools, and as more taxpayers are educated on how the funds are used, hopefully they will be open to paying a slightly higher rate of property taxes to support K-12 education.
References:
Brimley, V., Verstegen, D. A., & Garfield, R. (2012). Financing education in a climate of change (Eleventh). Hoboken, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
For any of you that have been following my blog, you recognize that I have been on a health journey to improve my physical health so I can best serve my family and school community. Today, I wanted to spend a bit of time discussing fiscal health, which is another aspect of healthy living.
As a school principal, one of the ways I support our school in appropriately using our school funds is to ensure that everyone has an understanding of our “Why” and our values are aligned to that common purpose. For our school, one of our shared values is: “Students First,” when considering spending: our team evaluates if the item is aligned to our values.
In light of the Covid-19 Pandemic, school budgets have been hit hard. There are less resources and more need for staff and PPE to effectively physically distance. Schools shutdown and went into “distance learning” in a matter of days. Governor Newsom has cut the education budget by 10% and is asking for additional federal funding to support. As our Nation’s economy has been impacted, the ripple to taxes will be felt in education.
Proposition 13 (1978), which created a statewide property tax rate set at 1 percent of assessed value and limited annual increases in assessed value (Weston, 2012). This was a victory for the homeowners, but had negative implications for education. With less revenues going towards the schools, the issues of equity became more prevalent. There were “have and have not” situations happening at schools. Schools that had a community that could augment their funding were able to offer enrichment programs, where other were in a state of disrepair.
Assembly Bill 8 proposes districts in the state to have a student to counselor ratio of 400-to-1 by the end of 2022 (Raymundo, 2019). This bill would cost about a $120 million dollars and would be funded out of the state’s general fund. In light of increasing social emotional needs in students, this bill makes sense, but yet again, the question arises about the funding source. Are the voting public’s values aligned with educators’? some districts have been proactive and have applied for grants to augment social emotional learning, and have been able to hire elementary school counselors. As a principal in one of those districts, I can attest to the positive impact a school counselor can make on a campus, but what about districts that have not been able to afford/prioritize school counselors. As students and staff return to school as the pandemic subsides, how can this inequity be addressed? This goes back to the idea of a “why” are our values aligned to our actions and expenditures in education, or as a state?
The Gann Limit, (Proposition 4) was passed a year after Proposition 13, and limited the amount that state and local government (including school districts can legally spend (Gevercer et al, 2018). When Proposition 98 was passed in 1988, it stated that the extra money from the Gann Limit, would not be refunded to the tax payers, but would be allocated towards education. The passage of Proposition 98 attempted to address issues of equity in allocation of educational resources, by investing extra monies into schools.
All of this legislation brings us back to this idea of equality versus equity. When thinking about school funding and tax payers, the relationship needs to be mutually beneficial. The tax payers need to see the benefit of investing in education without drastically impacting their personal finances. Ensuring equity is imperative! So, let’s get back to our “Why” as a state, why is education important, why should we invest in students? If we do not have a common vision and shared values, our “Why” becomes muddied, and legislation that benefits one group over another is passed. Is it possible the way to get back to a healthier fiscal state would be creating a strong vision and set of values that would guide spending and budget decisions?
As I have been on my health journey, re-prioritizing areas of my life have been an important part of growing into my best self. I have been working on my rocks: family, health, and my relationships.
In order to build healthy habits, I have been looking at my rocks. What are the big rocks in my jar: God, my family, my friends, my school, my pooches, and normally I would end it there, but today I am going to be bold and say, “ME”. Heck, I am shouting: MMMMEEEEEE! I need to be a rock in my jar! I still feel guilty about even thinking, saying, or writing this!
Okay, let’s talk about my personal rocks: faith- each day I take a few minutes to connect with God and say thank you for the blessings in my life. Life long learning- honestly, I cannot get enough of it. I love school. I think that is why I am educator!!! I spend at least 10-15 minutes a day on professional reading or on fun fact reading. You never know when a Trivial Pursuit invite could happen! Healthy eating- I LOVE a yummy meal, especially one with family, and lately I have learned a little more about moderation on my portions. I also have been part of a program which has helped me shed almost 50lbs.
My current guilty pleasure!!!
Finally, movement- I love being outside and moving, but my schedule presents a challenge… so how can I fit it in…I wake up early so I can use the elliptical and watch fun TV programs. Currently, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” is what I am watching. I can easily get lost in their fantastic vintage era! The 35 minutes I exercise is “ME” time. My rule is that I can only watch it on the elliptical, which has helped keep me motivated for exercising the next day!
My wondering is how often should I look at my rocks, and are there seasons in life where I need to take precedence? It is hard for me to prioritize myself because giving to others is what fills my jar, but if I have nothing in my jar, how can I give to others? Being a servant leader also means prioritizing self to care for and support those around. My greatest hope is that after reading this you start to look at the rocks in your jar and determine if you are in there. If you are not, make a plan and fly the plan (my dad’s saying)…because your deserve to engage in a bit of self love!!!
Last week was very busy and had several stressful moments. My entire family except for me was taken down by the stomach flu, and I had a few “courageous conversations” with staff, students, and parents. The question becomes how do I take care of myself when my main support system is down for the count!
My recipe for success this week was focused on finding those joyful moments. On Tuesday, the Culture and Community Lead team at my school decided we would do “The Git Up” as our whole school dance at the end of the month. They organized the dance practice, planned what we should wear, and then they danced and sang together! Talk about starting movement!
The Dance I need to learn by February 26th!
I am not the most coordinated dancer- I am the person in Jazzercise who ends up on the opposite side of the room and wonders where everyone went, but I am excited about making the most of each moment and fully participating in the dance at my school (Yes, I did buy the boots at the top of my blog so I can look a bit more western on the day of the dance- thematic dressing makes me happy).
As I shared before, it was a challenging week. When times are stressful, I typically will buy snacks for my staff, create scavenger hunts, or do something to help spread joy. This week, I shared a story that started from my 11 year old asking if Sonic the Hedgehog has a tail. I replied, “all animals with 4 legs have a tail” (I really had no idea when I made the proclamation), but then decided I could not Google the answer and needed to think of a non-example. After a day of pondering, I shared my wondering with the staff in an email. The sense of wonder and lunch conversations were fantastically energizing! Who knew such a silly question could create a bonding moment!
I waited a few days and my administrative assistant suggested that maybe we can Google before break. So we did! I emailed the answer to staff, and they were shocked that I had Googled it! Honestly, I did not really like the Google answer and began to wonder if an animal has 4 feet, does it really have legs (I know I am completely going down the over thinking rabbit hole!).
Guilty Pleasure!!!
When a week has been tough, it is important that as servant leaders, we take care of ourselves. My Valentine’s night consisted of me, my crab leg, and my dogs while the rest of my family was sleeping the Flu away! I engaged in a little retail therapy- the boots and a couple of vintage dresses, and my bucket was full again…ready to give and care for others.
As you finish reading this, I hope that you are thinking about how you might work through your next challenging situation. What are the things you are doing to care for yourself and fill your bucket? I know for me…as soon as I finish this sentence, I am going to put on my boots and practice “The Git Up.” My boots aren’t only made for walking!
The past couple of posts have allowed you to get to know me a bit better! As a leader, I love spoiling my school family! Generally, I show my affection through food! I bring in treats- bagels, donuts, coffee pods, fruit, and sometimes even naughty treats like the Hostess goodies!
Holy Hostess!!!
Based on what you know of my health journey, I am not not walking the talk!
So here comes the debate, I want to continue showing my love and caring for my staff, but I need to find that balance. My compromise has been cuties: healthy, delicious, and they do not spoil to quickly! I also have upped my coffee pod purchases: coffee = smiles!
Now here is where the twist comes, I have no problem sharing my health journey and how good I am feeling. I love it so much, I have become a health coach to support others on their journey with the program I am on. Well, I guess I have started a movement. Take 3 minutes and watch this video:
Apparently, I have become that crazy principal dancing by herself on a hillside, and now I have some followers! About half of my staff is taking steps to eat healthier, and several of my administrative colleagues are starting their journey! My dance isn’t looking so crazy now!
I’m a little goofy like Lucy, and I am enjoying my perfectly imperfect journey to be my best self so I can care for others!
There is so much joy to be had in each and everyday, and feeling joyful, and taking steps to bring a smile into the lives of others is totally worth it.
One of my favorite parts of the day is when I get to school. While I make my coffee, I pull out my cart and place my disco light boombox on it, and play music in the hallway.
Love my Party Rocker!!!!
I am a sucker for disco, oldies, classic rock, and rock music. I musically froze in 1998, so that is where my playlist stops! But here is the best part: as the staff come into the office, they are singing along and dancing! I love these moments!
Then at 7:45, I roll my cart to the front of school and greet families and kiddos. The coolest part is seeing the parents and students singing their way into school!
So tomorrow, if you are looking to bring a smile to your workplace- start a movement! Hallway dance parties will bring you and your colleagues lots of joy, although they might think you are a bit nuts like the dancer on the hillside until you get a couple of followers…if you play it, they will dance…I promise!
I am going to end this post with one of my favorite songs to kick off the day!
I LOVED WWE as a kid…so this gentleman’s exuberance captured how I felt on Monday!!!
Bear with me because this week was an absolute roller coaster! Staying healthy: mentally and physically was a CHALLENGE!!!!
Okay, so let’s start with the “Oh Yeah” moments from my week…if you read my blog last week, you might remember that I was looking to hit the big 4-0. Low and behold I hit 41 lbs lost. Woot, Woot (This is where you can throw your hands up in the air like you just don’t care)! What does 41 pounds mean to me: shopping in my closet again, feeling a bit more confident, and having the energy to give 120 percent in all areas of my life!
Spirit Car- Lola
Next “Oh Yeah,” this week I got my Spirit Car! it totally sounds dramatic, but I am absolutely serious! Last week our truck was in the shop and they loaned us a 4-door jeep, I drove it all week, and realized the car and I were one! I may have been a bit obsessed with The Dukes of Hazzard, but the jeep spoke to me! This weekend, I enjoyed a topless/door-less ride (totally sounds spicy- I promise it was PG).
99 years old!!!!
Macho Man Randy Savage would totally say, “Oh Yeah” to my Grandma’s 99th birthday this week! I am so grateful she is healthy and feisty as ever!
Epic Disaster!!!!!!
I am almost too embarrassed to admit my #FAIL of the week! Here goes: my dongle (the apple audio to phone thingy) was MIA when I got the Jeep. I use it for our monthly assemblies. I wanted to have the Macarena as our whole school dance ( we do a dance every month- so fun!).
I emailed staff to see if they had a dongle I could borrow (please resist the 4th grade boy humor I had when I sent the email). Needless to say, I was DONGLESS!!!! The kids were seated, and one of my teachers and I quickly searched for a clean Macarena for kids…the original is a bit too picante for my taste! We found one, listened to the first 10 seconds and were set.
Fast forward 20 minutes later, everyone is dancing, and a rap version of Macarena comes up, it is a bit slower, and we are all dancing, then it abruptly ends….
I wrap up the assembly, and then my PTO tells me about the VERY SPICY/NAUGHTY lyrics in the Macarena. My teacher and I decided that we might be able to get hired at the 98 Cent store after this fiasco!
I am horrified, and trying to remain calm and develop a plan of attack for the mess I created by not being prepared!
I walk the upper grade rooms… and not a single student mentioned it. I have our school communication system up and I am watching it like a ticker tape…
My boss comes in the afternoon and I confess!!!!
All clear- I weathered Macarena-Gate!
Later in the week, I had a very direct conversation with a staff member. It pushed me out of my comfort zone, and I did it because the bottom line is I have to always keep my focus on my Why- what is best for kids. Needless to say, it was a tough week!
Leadership lessons: 35 minutes a day
One of the things that got me through this week was exercising. I get up early to exercise guilt free- I am not taking away from my family or school. My time in the morning is “me time.”
Normally, I am a voracious reader, but lately the elliptical has lent itself to The Crown. I can only watch it when I exercise, which adds that extra layer of accountability!
Queen Elizabeth talks a lot about the challenge of doing nothing and remaining calm and constant in the eyes of others- even if you are not feeling that way.
My lesson this week was that I held it together (barely) at school on the day of Macarena- Gate, and the next day my game face was back.
As a leader, at times I feel stressed: I want to cry, yell, have a magic pill and fix everything. If I reacted the way my brain was thinking, I would not be meeting my staffs’ needs. I told myself, “Suck it up buttercup, and pull your big girl pants on.”
This journey for health is not just my physical body, but also my attitude. It was a hard week, and I made it! Being healthy is about taking those baby steps…what will your step be this week?????
My name is Mandy. I am a 43 year old principal in Southern California. Much of my life is dedicated to serving those that I love- my family, staff and students. In my quest for serving others, sometimes I have forgotten to take care of myself. In September 2019, I realized in order to better care for others I needed to start taking care of me. This blog with chronicle my story, which might be similar to your story! I am hoping by reading this, YOU, my dear servant leaders will see that it is okay to prioritize yourself and will help you in caring for others.
My husband and I have been together for 13 years. He is my biggest cheerleader. Whenever I decide to take on a new endeavor, he is the first to tell me I can do it!
My Boys…as a young child I loved The Dukes of Hazzard, who knew that I would have my very own Bo and Luke Duke! My boys are my heart and I love seeing the world through their eyes.
My fur babies
Just like many of you, our fur babies are something that fill out hearts. Rocky- my bully is a very active pup, I am not sure that he realizes that he is a bulldog! Sadie, my Viszla, stares into my soul. I think if Sadie could, she would crawl in my skin like Luke Skywalker did to the Ton Ton!
Healthy Principal Bell 