Oct. 19, 2026 Editor, The News-Gazette: The News-Gazette advertises itself as a paper serving “Lexington, Buena Vista and Rockbridge County”; however, the Oct. 14 editorial supporting the local sales tax increase fails to live up to that description.
I suggest the sales tax referenda for Lexington and Buena Vista be rewritten to read as follows: “Do you want other people to pay for the upgrades to your local schools?”
The paper rejects off-hand that the local jurisdictions raise their property taxes to pay for their schools, which is how those funds should be generated.
I find the limitation that the additional sales tax collected in Lexington will only go to Lexington’s portion of the Rockbridge County High School upgrades particularly repulsive because it is almost certain that most of those taxes will be collected from non-Lexington residents.
Assuming the voters in these jurisdictions agree that folks other than themselves should pay to upgrade their schools, I will be taking my business elsewhere. STEVE HODAPP Rockbridge County
