"There has been a lot of talk in recent years that the state has not done its part in funding education in North Dakota. If the actual facts are taken into account, we see on a per pupil basis education funding today is at record levels — even when adjusted for inflation. Since the historical low reached in 1992, state funding of education has increased drastically — over $1,400 per pupil after inflation" state director Duane Sand stated.

Property taxpayers in Cass County who are frustrated with the taxes they are paying should take a close look at Americans for Prosperity's Truth In Taxation Study, made public today, 13 February, 2008.

Politicians who think taxes don't matter might want to explain the Dakotas. North Dakota ranked second worst in out-migration last year, while South Dakota ranked in the top 10 as a destination. The two are similar in most regards, with one large difference: North Dakota has an income tax and South Dakota doesn't.

According to Grand Forks Herald writer Tu-Uyen Tran: "For Christensen, the worry is that a county sales tax could mean a major setback for the Industrial Park. Presently, there is no clear source of funding for a $17.9 million expansion; made necessary by the lack of space for new factories...The park is home to such major employers as wind turbine blade maker LM Glasfiber and aircraft maker Cirrus Design. City leaders hope to attract more of their kind but, without land available, their chances are much slimmer."
Did you catch that?
The reason the city wants to increase the sales tax is so that it can subsidize businesses in hopes they will expand operations. This is in fact a noble cause, but not when taxpayers are struggling under the highest tax burden of any major city in the state of North Dakota. Furthermore, Mr. Christensen says there is an urgency because if the county raises taxes first, the voters may not want to approve another city sales tax increase.

"As the chart shows, total per pupil revenue in the Grand Forks School District has increased by 49.8% while the Midwest Consumer Price Index as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics has increased 21.3%. Mr. Lamb's assertion that the cost of education has remained steady when compared to inflation is simply wrong — per student funding has actually increase over twice as fast as inflation," state director of Americans for Prosperity, Duane Sand, said.