The state of Ohio and our elected officials must find a way to fund schools other than property taxes.

We are senior citizens. My husband is a veteran. We both worked and paid federal, state, city and property taxes for 50 plus years. Why are we expected to pay for the education of our children’s children? Seniors are barely getting by and can not afford these taxes.

We certainly have paid more than our fair share. We are fed up with our tax money funding education, food, housing and medical services to illegals, immigrants and other people’s children when we cannot even get a cost of living increase in Social Security.

We lived in another school district before we moved here and saw other senior citizens who lived there their entire lives and had to move because they could not afford property taxes. We then moved to the Olentangy School District in Delaware to our dream retirement home. Olentangy is a huge school district and now we are facing two property tax increases in just three years. Next year the county will reassess our property for additional taxes. Since Delaware is so popular, our property value will certainly rise and, guess what, more taxes.

Do people realize that 70 percent of property taxes go to schools? Property taxes are out of control. Property taxes now represent the largest part of our small social security budget. What should we give up?: utilities, food, medicine or our retirement home we have worked to hard to enjoy? Seniors should not have to spend their senior years in fear of losing their homes because of taxes. When will our elected representatives give us tax relief?

We, as citizens, do not have the power to change the way schools are funded, but our elected representatives do and should. Steps must be taken to provide relief to our seniors immediately. We know this has been discussed many times over the years. We elected you to represent us. Quit talking and do something.

–Tim and Sharon Durfey

Delaware