But What About All That Money the City "Forks Over" to the Schools?

83% of city school funds do NOT come from the local property tax levy.

That said, the city collects the taxes from you, it is not their money. The schools have no independent taxing authority. The City Council ALREADY has veto power over the city school budget. School budgets dwarf city budgets in most cities because of the nature of the services, Rochester is not unique there. City Hall failures in their areas of responsibility (crime, jobs) burden the schools. City Council members who want to run the schools are free to take the personal cut, and the personal staff cut, and RUN for school board.