On December 14 all parents of the students in Maine Township High Schools will have to make a very important decision. That decision will be whether or not to raise the high school Educational Fund tax levy by $.21.

Due to the influx of so many new students each year, which has been 1,347 new students in two years, more teachers are needed and the total cost for teachers' salaries continues to grow. Available tax revenue has not kept up with this growth. The schools also need money for supplies and equipment. By June 1969 the Educational Fund will be in debt $2.4 million. Because of this we are losing well trained and qualified teachers to nearby schools and colleges. If the referendum passes, 80 per cent would go toward salaries and 20 per cent for supplies.

A tax referendum for the Educational Fund is different than a bond referendum, which authorizes the Board of Education to borrow money to make additions to buildings and for other investments. The tax referendum mainly has to do with the educating factor in running a school.

Since 1964‑65 the Educational Fund income has not exceeded the expenses that are chargeable to the Education Fund. The Board of Education has no choice than to spend more than it receives, for they have to keep salaries competitive and also provide equipment and other materials whose costs have been increasing each year. The Board of Education eventually will have to make the expenditures equal the income. Without more income the quality of education in the high schools will steadily start to decrease.

Once a school system has built a good educational program, which Maine has, it is expected to maintain this standard. Maine has been ranked in the top ten schools in the nation. For this reason, when people move to the Chicago area they want to live in the Maine Township district, which means property values go up. But once this program is destroyed, the students suffer. A homeowner's property does not maintain its value, and the community deteriorates.

Mr. Herman Rider, Maine West principal, urges that all voters turn out and vote for the issue. As Mr. Rider said, "If the referendum is passed, the $.21 increase can be included in the tax bills which would be mailed to Maine Township residents in spring of 1969. This will allow the Board to continue its quality of education. He also said, "If the referendum fails, drastic cutbacks in the education program will become necessary."