e-sound off

By Staff
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School tax holiday
Let me see if I understand this! From Aug. 3 through Aug. 5, we will be getting 3 tax free holidays for buying supplies, clothing, and other necessities for our kids to go back to school. But what about the students at the high school? These students do not get their supply list until the first day of school, which will be after the tax free period. "
"It does not seem like some can be pleased. The City Council suspends taxes for a three-day period, and some want more. This time thoughtfully covers a Friday payday and a weekend. Instead of griping, we need to be thanking the council for this gesture. Don't make a negative out of a positive move. Clothes for school are the big ticket items, not paper, pencils, notebook, and binders. It's not like the high schoolers need tons of glue, markers, crayons, sleeping mats, etc. Buy the basics during the tax free period and then check your list for the specialty items for art, etc. after the tax free period, or call the instructor, or ask a friend who already has been there. Get over it!"
"I can see both sides of the tax holiday issue. I have three boys, and none of them wear clothing from Wal-Mart in Hartselle. We shop in Decatur and Cullman, so we don't benefit from the tax holiday in that regard. However, my children are older, and our supplies are minimal now. The tax holiday is not really an incentive for us to wait. We don't save enough to bother with the crowds. Maybe the tax holiday would be more of an incentive to shop here if we had a better retail selection. The council's gesture is nice, and may be appreciated by many, but I wonder how many of us really benefit from it?"
"I guess a tax holiday won't help you since you readily admit you don't support Hartselle anyway! If you don't like it why whine about it? It was meant to help people that do support Hartselle! Our schools you mentioned are funded in part by taxes generated in Hartselle."
"FYI-Decatur and Cullman participate in the tax holiday. How hard can it be for the junior and high schools to release class schedules before school starts? Barkley Bridge Elementary releases class lists at least a week before the first day of school. The teachers should make use of the website and post the supply list. I know it can be done because the teachers at Barkley Bridge Elementary do it. The junior and high schools need to help the parents take advantage of the tax holiday. "
"We don't buy "big ticket items like clothing" here, either. We go to Decatur, Cullman, Huntsville, and even Birmingham. We would shop here, if we had the stores that those places have. I didn't see anyone whine in that post. I did see a parent thank the city, praise the city council, and offer a suggestion for improvement on the process."
"Has it ever occurred to anyone that posts here that people who have the luxury of a computer and the time to post, etc. are not the ones that really benefit from the tax free shopping anywhere. There are many in our town, a hidden population in a way, that must shop locally because of finances, gas prices, time, money and status. You that talk of driving to Birmingham, Cullman, etc. who act as if nothing in Hartselle is acceptable enough to you may not be thinking of the larger picture of our school population. In a district where a large percentage of our children are on free or reduced lunches as reported in the school report cards."
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