I'm in favor of the School Board's proposal. Our School Board is dependent on the state to receive allocations, and with the state cutting the budget so much - despite requirements to adhere to class-size restrictions - it is no wonder that the School Board is looking for additional ways to help meet its mission. After all, you can't expect our schools to meet their constitutional requirements with one hand tied behind their back. It is a reflex on these forums for people to stand firm against any and all tax increases, but at some point we have to understand that a budget can be cut only so much before it breaks the system - and public education's defunding by our state legislature has just about done that, through no fault of our local school boards. It is not always true, but we should remember that we sometimes get what we pay for, and if we keep underfunding our schools then we'll be getting students who can't read, write, do math, or any of the other valuable skills that we demand from our 21st century economy.