The Act 72 presentation scheduled by the school boards from Huntingdon, Juniata Valley, and Mount Union at Huntingdon High School was billed as unbiased "information sharing" by a supposed expert on Act 72. The actual presentation I sat through was painfully boring, purposefully confusing, unnecessarily complicated, and significantly erroneous. Dr. William T. Hartman of Penn State University repeatedly stated that he was not biased one way or the other. In my opinion, it became obvious that he was purposefully deriding Act 72 to insure that the audience would leave overwhelmed, confused and convinced that Act 72 is a bad idea.
As president of the Juniata Valley Senior Citizens' organization, I expected a more honest presentation. Property tax relief to senior citizens on fixed income is a very serious issue and it deserves better than the "shoddy" presentation I witnessed.
Thanks to the Juniata Valley school district, I have a recording of the actual presentation and can show it to interested people. Unfortunately the Question and Answer segment was not taped by the Juniata Valley Video Club. If you would like to see the actual presentation at our senior center, just call me at (814) 669-4919.
I have grouped my comments into the following major categories so that you can see the specifics as to why my opinion of Dr. Hartman's presentation is so negative:
Encouraging School Districts to Raise Taxes
Citing Just the Lowest Tax Benefits of Act 72
Negative Comments about Act 72 to Create the Impression that it is Bad