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And even worse: because of the high property taxes being used to fund a bad school system, the people living there are more likely to be renters and not care about that property or its maintenance in the same way that a homeowner actually living in that property would.

Renters have very little reason to invest.

Landlords know this and they also plan accordingly, with the result that their properties acquire a certain drab utilitarian grimness that just sucks all the life out of a place and lends it an unwelcoming air, if not one of outright danger.

Every time I visit Omaha, I am once again reminded of this. Almost everywhere I look, it's a bit gritty and dingy, a bit unkempt. A bit--run down, and more than a bit depressing. There are neighborhoods that are exceptions, but mostly they're outside the area served by OPS.

And then--if people are too busy paying the bills in rental housing, they're also too busy to pay attention to what their kids are being taught in school or how they're being taught. What a vicious circle!

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Here’s a hot one for you: did Cheryl Logan improve (or not) OPS during her five years as superintendent?

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