Cooper Union; Other news

[Scott Baker]

Hello Common Groundlings (and friends):

I'll have a longer update in a few days, but I wanted to bring your attention to this group and their fight to save Cooper Union as a tuition-free school and maybe altogether.  The student-faculty coalition has less than 4 days to raise money to continue their struggle.

Many, if not most, Georgists believe educational institutions ought to pay property taxes like everyone else, but what happens when the property tax abatement is literally the only thing keeping a school afloat, as is probably the case with the beleaguered Cooper Union University, once a non-tuition school, and now charging tuition, which may directly threaten its tax-exempt status on the land it owns under the Chrysler Building, that Peter Cooper bought in order to create a perpetual fund for the school (Gee, the return on Land provides a good and steady income without any effort on the part of the landowner.  Who'd have thought it?).  Now, because of bungled expansion building, and poor investments in a hedge fund by the current Administration (also documented ably in the new movie "Ivory Tower," which I highly recommend), both Cooper Union's tax-free status and its very existence are in jeopardy. 

How does this square with our philosophy? Comments please:

Dear Alumni and Friends,

As many of you might be aware, Cooper Union is the recipient of a huge tax benefit since it does not have to pay taxes on its considerable real-estate holdings, including the Chrysler building. This property tax exemption is worth more than $19 million annually to Cooper Union.

Historically, when New York challenged Cooper Union's tax exempt status, Cooper Union was able to defend it by pointing to the free tuition it offers. For example, in the 1936 New York State Court of Appeals, Cooper Union argued that it was “not acting for selfish reasons,” instead acting “for the benefit of the public … performing the functions of the State by furnishing technical education and laboratory and library facilities, [which] places it in a position like that of a governmental body.”

The Court of Appeals determined that the State legislature has the power to curtail the tax exemption. If Cooper Union charges tuition just like any other school, it would be very tempting for the legislature to eliminate the tax exemption entirely.

More recently, when Cooper Union wanted a zoning variance, the administration told the City Planning Commission: “the school could not solve its financial problems like other educational institutions and that increasing the student body or charging tuition were not viable options … [because] Cooper Union is committed to providing education to those who may not otherwise be able to afford it at comparable top-ranking institutions.”In the transcript of the September 19, 2012 Cooper Union Board Meeting (available online at the Village Voice - see p. 17 of transcript) President Bharucha stated “When I first arrived I was informed by my predecessor [George Campbell] that tuition would risk the tax equivalency.”

Now, instead of taking the steps needed to preserve free tuition as outlined in the Working Group plan, the President and Board reversed their commitment and irresponsibly voted to charge tuition - putting the future of Cooper Union at risk. The loss of the tax exemption and having to pay market rates for property taxes would likely prove fatal to Cooper Union.

Over 690 of us have stepped up to donate over $120,000 to the legal efforts to help save Cooper Union by forcing the Board to preserve the 150-year tradition of free tuition enshrined in the Charter.

With only 4 days left to our initial fundraising goal of $150,000 please donate to help Save Cooper Union today!

Sincerely yours,

The Committee to Save Cooper Union
For more information, see: The Committee to Save Cooper Union

		The Committee to Save Cooper Union A Working Group of faculty, students and alumni elected by their respective constituencies developed a plan for preserving free tuition that was supported by the Faculty Union, the alumni association and students.
		View on savecooperunion.org	Preview by Yahoo

 

Stay tuned.  Some exciting things are happening.  I should have an update by next week.  As you know, the CGO conference is going on now as well as the Young Georgists Conference.  We should have updates soon, as well as videos for those, like me and Rita, who didn't make it this year.

 

Scott Baker - President: Common Ground - NYC; NY State Coordinator, Public Banking Institute; Opednews Blogger/Senior Editor; Huffington Post Blogger; Author

Video Appearances & Slideshows here:
http://newthinking.blogspot.com/

Petitions:
-- Commemorate President Lincoln's Assassination with 1 Billion Debt-Free Lincoln $5 Bills
-- Replace Property Tax with Ground Rent in New York State
-- Assess NYC buildings using comparative properties
-- California Dreaming: Set up a State Bank with abundant CAFR funds
-- Complete the East Side Manhattan Greenway from 38-61 Streets and save bikers, help the environment, and clear up traffic
-- Tax Vacant & Unused Land to Return its value to the Community
-- Close New York State's budget Gap with money from its own agencies by setting up a State Bank
-- Defend the Clean Air Act
-- Produce debt-free United States Notes
-- Reclassify the FED's account, from private to public