There has been a lot of rhetoric over the proposed sales tax increase to fund Champaign County schools, but what it really comes down to is this: an increase of one penny per dollar can make a huge difference in how our schools operate. For the average family spending $40 for a tank of gas, that comes out to a whopping $0.40. For the price of a candy bar, our kids can spend their days in modern buildings that don’t leak every time it rains.

Times are tough, and they aren’t going to get easier any time soon. That doesn’t mean we can afford to ignore our schools’ infrastructure. The roofs on those 100-year-old buildings aren’t going to stop leaking just because the economy is tight or the stock market lost a few hundred points. As much as people might argue that a sales tax increase is the most horrible thing ever proposed, reality is that most people won’t even notice the increase. For most families, the increase in sales tax will be rounded off. Think about it: when you go to the gas station, do you come home and tell your spouse “I spent $39.58 on gas” or do you round up to $40? That’s all the impact this proposed sales tax increase will have on your budget. It’s the spare change you shove in your wallet after buying a mocha or a Big Mac.

It’s a pretty painless sacrifice in the end, with real benefits to our kids.