For almost 20 years, Democrats in the state House of Representatives have been trying to reduce school taxes. We almost were successful in 1989 when, along with the late Gov. Robert P. Casey, the legislature passed the Property Tax Reduction Act.

However, because the act required a statewide referendum, those who were afraid the Democrats would actually succeed in slashing property taxes twisted the facts and confused the voters. The referendum was defeated and, along with it, any real chance of reducing school taxes - until now.

Once again, we are very close to cutting Pennsylvania's school taxes, with Gov. Ed Rendell leading the way. And, once again, there are a bunch of people trying to stop us.

The plan is simple. All we want to do is stop about $3 billion of Pennsylvania money from leaving our state every year, and create almost 8,000 new jobs in the process, by legalizing strictly regulated slot machines at select locations throughout the state. Every penny the state gets from the plan would go into reducing school taxes.

A group of folks who call themselves the Commonwealth Caucus have another idea. They want to reduce the state sales tax to 4 percent from 6 percent but apply that 4 percent to everything we buy in Pennsylvania. That's right - all the food, clothing, over-the-counter medicines, doctor visits and attorney fees that are exempt from the sales tax now would get an extra 4 percent tacked onto their cost.

Of course, the Commonwealth Caucus never admits that its plan doesn't really reduce taxes for working families and senior citizens; it just shifts more of the taxes from the really rich onto the middle class.

It's the same stuff we see from the Bush administration every day - the reverse-Robin Hood strategy of taking more from the poor and giving more to the rich.

What the Commonwealth Caucus never mentions in its news releases and editorials is how unfairly consumption taxes burden low- and middle-income families. So I'll tell you.

According to a study prepared by the Citizens for Tax Justice, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research organization dedicated to fair taxation at the federal, state and local levels, "Sales taxes are extremely regressive, because they place a larger relative burden on low- and middle-income families." In its study, Citizens for Tax Justice documented that lower-income households pay more than six times as great a percentage of their incomes in sales taxes as do wealthier families, while middle-income households pay four times as great a share.

Let's consider some facts:

Pennsylvanians like to gamble. Whether or not the legislature adopts gaming legislation, Pennsylvanians will continue to gamble - only they'll keep doing it in other states, which means that the $3 billion in after-tax dollars they spend on slots every year will continue to wind up in New Jersey, West Virginia, New York, Michigan, Nevada - the list goes on. However, if we let Pennsylvanians spend their dollars in Pennsylvania, the state will get a cut of that money and we'll use it to reduce school taxes.

The "4 Percent Solution" would not create any new jobs and, in fact, might cost Pennsylvania jobs in the retail and service sectors, while legalizing slot machines would create thousands of temporary construction jobs and thousands more permanent jobs - well-paying jobs in the new venues all over Pennsylvania.

The expanded sales tax would do nothing to help Pennsylvania's ailing horse-racing industry, which can't compete with the dozens of out-of-state tracks with slot machines where Pennsylvanians spend millions each year. So, legalizing gaming in Pennsylvania would help save our horse-racing industry, and that means maybe someday one of Smarty Jones' offspring will finish what Smarty Jones started.

No matter how you slice it, the sales tax idea is a tax increase for most Pennsylvanians. On the other hand, legalizing slot machines would mean a school tax cut with no additional taxes. That's correct; we can significantly reduce school taxes without raising any other taxes, and we can do it now - before the end of the month.

All we need is for the obstructionists to get out of our way.

State Rep. Frank LaGrotta

10th District

I am saddened to learn that St. Mary Academy in Freeport will be closing. It's a shame that Angela Burrows, executive director of Infomedia Services for the Diocese of Greensburg, feels most of the children will now be attending public schools. I hope that their parents will consider keeping their children in Catholic schools, especially in today's society, where God is being taken away from everything else we do through politics.Burrows also stated that if the children continue in Catholic schools, they will be attending a school in Ford City or Natrona Heights. There is another option: St. Mary's School in Herman.St. Mary's is a wonderful school, filled with great academics, spiritual growth and a true bond. As a matter of fact, students from St. Mary's were just recently profiled in the paper because they were moving on to the History Day finals in Washington, D.C.I encourage parents to look into all other Catholic options before making the decision to send their children to public schools. God is no longer welcome at those schools, even though good academics might be.Wendy CollinsCenter Township

Seldom do we encounter people who want to do something nice just for the sake of being kind.But that is exactly the kind of people that Habitat for Humanity of Butler County, Inc., found in St. Luke Lutheran Church and School in Cabot.Sitting at my desk one day, I answered the phone to a voice telling me that St. Luke's was holding an art show, "Art with a Heart," and they wanted it to benefit Habitat for Humanity.As I listened to Michele Allen, the project coordinator, explain what they were doing, I was stunned. How could a school hold a fundraiser and not need to turn the money over to the school budget?The answer was simple. The school directors believed that the children at St. Luke's were being told to live their faith, but were not being shown how. They wanted that to change.On April 23 and 24, St. Luke Lutheran Church and School held "Art with a Heart" and it was a great success. The efforts of the school administration, parents, students, local businesses, artists and church members raised more than $7,000 for Habitat for Humanity of Butler County, Inc. This money will be used to purchase equipment and materials necessary to complete our two current projects on West Wayne Street in Butler.The Board of Directors of Habitat for Humanity of Butler County would like to express appreciation to everyone involved in making this event such a success.Special thanks are in order for Michele Allen, Principal Mark Wilt and the terrific committee that helped put this event together.The kindness and generosity of this terrific school and congregation will be long remembered. We are grateful for their help in furthering our mission of building homes with God's people in need.Kimberly K. Kresh Butler TownshipBusiness ManagerHabitat for Humanityof Butler County, Inc.

I have received a letter from the South Butler County Education Association. According to the letter, as of June 30, the teachers will have worked without a contract for a year.As people might guess, the teachers want more money. They justify this by stating that teachers in surrounding districts receive better pay, and South Butler teachers contend that our school board wastes money on frivolous projects.They believe it is money that could go into their pockets.What's not in their letter is how much the teachers already make - and just how good of a contract they have been working under.If the pay in South Butler is truly "unfair," why don't they pack up and apply for a job in the other districts?I have a son at Knoch, and I pay almost $3,000 a year to the school district in property taxes. My son attended St. Luke's Christian School for three years. The church charged me about $500 a year at the time.The church doesn't have the ability to tax every citizen, yet it seems to make it work.Now, I do agree with the South Butler teachers that the school board does seem to overspend on projects. But it should also be noted that state laws hamper construction because of the "prevailing wage" rules. This forces simple projects to be done by union workers and only after lawyers, architects and specialists have sucked their share of money out of the budget.Now that South Butler has completed its new school (or is it a mall?), when are we going to see the savings from closing our outlying elementary schools? Weren't we to see savings in the consolidation of the Winfield, Jefferson and Clinton schools?If we've saved so much, why did we get a 3-mill property tax increase?I will be the first to admit that I don't know all the details of the problems the school board faces. But this I do know: I carry a heavy tax burden to support this district.The teachers shouldn't expect any sympathy from me. If they feel cheated, tough; they should get over it and be grateful they have a job at all.And, if they strike, I hope they are replaced by people less greedy.Gary McKruitCabot