I had a math teacher in school who used to say, “There’s a simple solution to every problem, but it’s always wrong.” As I readied myself for the Legislature’s special session in late August, that saying echoed in my head relentlessly as I internally debated the issue of tax reform.

On the central issue, both proponents of the Maine Municipal Association referendum and of the governor and Legislature’s competing measure agree – the state needs to live up to its obligation to fund 55 percent of the cost of K-12 education. Since Augusta currently foots only 43 percent of the bill, the remainder of the burden falls on municipalities and, in turn, on local property taxpayers. This creates a situation that is rapidly becoming a crisis and that demands serious tax reform on a state level.

Departing from that core premise, however, the MMA proposal and the competing measure embark on quite different paths to a solution. The MMA’s course reminds me of my old math teacher’s saying: It is not only simplistic and wrong, but it ultimately may create problems far worse than the one it intends to solve.

First, unlike the MMA proposal, the competing measure actually defines what “55 percent of education costs” means. Does it include yachting and yoga classes? The MMA proposal doesn’t say. The competing measure does – the state will be obligated to pay 55 percent of the cost of the Essential Programs and Services that will be required to help every Maine student meet the previously mandated Learning Results.

Second, unlike the MMA proposal, the competing measure actually guarantees that with increased education funding to municipalities, property taxes will decline. To start, the competing measure expands eligibility for the state’s circuit-breaker program, supplying roughly $10 million worth of relief in 2004, $20 million in 2005, and $31 million in 2006. Next, it reinstates the popular Homestead exemption, which excludes the first $7,000 of a property’s value from taxes, providing an additional $5 million of relief each year. Finally, it requires statistical proof of promised property tax relief by way of a legislative review in 2010.

Finally and most importantly, unlike the MMA proposal, the competing measure is pragmatic and proposes to steadily increase state aid to education to meet the 55 percent goal by 2010. The MMA plan demands 55 percent in 2004 at a cost of more than $260 million. After balancing a $1.2 billion deficit without raising taxes this winter, finding another $260 million next year presents the state with two distinct choices: raise taxes to a tune of $260 million or gut every state-funded program to a tune of $260 million. I think I speak for every citizen in the state when I say that neither tune gives one reason to dance.

The MMA tax reform plan is a simple solution to a complex problem, and it is wrong. Worse than being wrong, however, the MMA’s solution threatens to destroy our state’s fragile economy with no guarantee that it will alleviate the problem of high property taxes. Luckily for the people of Maine, the governor and the Legislature came together to craft a competing measure that addresses many of the shortcomings of the MMA plan. By defining what 55 percent means, by guaranteeing property tax relief, and by phasing in full funding over a number of years, it proposes a solution that will actually solve the problem at hand. It should be supported at the ballot box in November.

Jeremy Fischer is a state representative in District 145 (Presque Isle) and a member of the Legislature’s Education and Cultural Affairs Committee.