Residents give tax rebates to schools

Instead of buying dinner at a nice restaurant or going for a night on the town, many University City residents have decided to donate their $100 state school-tax rebates to local schools. While donors are still undecided on the exact distribution of the funds, likely recipients include Lea, Powel, Wilson and Drew schools, all of which are located near Penn's campus. The effort began only a few days ago, but the number of donors has already surpassed 20 -- which translates to more than $2,000 for the schools -- and is expected to grow even more in the next couple of weeks. Melani Lamond, a resident who has volunteered to be co-coordinator of the effort, said the idea arose after Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge announced a statewide tax cut. "It's because we would rather see Gov. Ridge give money to Philadelphia schools than give it to us," the University City resident said. She pointed out that $100 is a relatively small amount for many households, especially when compared to the millions of dollars the rebate cost the state government. In fact, Ridge announced in his 2000 budget address that the rebate -- part of the most extensive tax cut in Pennsylvania history -- totals $330 million across the state. And while it may have been a monumental step for legislators, Lamond said she wondered what help those millions could have provided to the ailing public school system. Many of the other donors agreed with Lamond and expressed dissatisfaction with the state's move. David Nicklin, a University City resident and member of the Medical School faculty, attributed the tax cut mainly to legislators seeking reelection, calling it "a very poor and political choice on their part." "The Philadelphia schools are severely underfunded," he said. Al Airone, the effort's other coordinator, said he hopes the donations will make a statement to Ridge and the state legislators. "For the state to give back this money is like saying there's no need to give any more money to the schools," he said. "And that's simply not true." While the specifics of the donation are still undecided, many participants indicated that they would like to see the money given directly to the home and school associations of the recipients rather than to the Philadelphia School District. While the district has a program set up to receive such gifts, donations to local associations would allow University City residents to direct the funds specifically to their neighborhood schools. "It tells the teachers and staff in those schools that we value what they're doing," said Sally Simmons, a resident of Powelton Village. "It's an important gesture." Added Lamond: "University City can be a very generous community when they get involved in something."

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