Also from ILL.   just did some quick calculations.    Ours went from  $13/acre to almost  $50/acre.... only did farm ground.     The expensive stuff is high valued ground too.     I don't particularly like higher taxes either.   But,   How do you want the  people educated that are going to be responsible for taking care of you in your old age?  Do you want teachers to be some of the lower paid professionals in your county?    If we have local RE taxes  then we get more say in what goes on in our local district.   I have been a school board member  I know what some of those state mandates are,  they aren't cheap.   Many times we voted  5-4 on some state mandates.   Either vote yes  or the state will pull state funding..    When I was on the board  our local taxes provided  64% of our funding.    I believe it is still very close to that today, in the district we live in.

I think for some districts  "no child left behind"  hurt small rural districts.   Now they change the test  every couple of years.   Testing is not cheap.  Then they will  "grade"  your teacher and district based on a very small fraction.   We would get the test results and every 2 or 3 years  they reminded us  that this was  "the class".   Less than 30 kids in the class and  over 45% had IEPs  Ind.  Ed. Plans.   That class never was going to test high.  Never mind the year before and year after  was  over 50%  meet standards or exceed the standards.   The SAME teacher had to fill out forms,  attend classes and redo lesson plans to try and  explain the obvious.   Even with current education standards and requirements there are many intercity schools that still fail today.  

I know several of you say:   it was good enough for me.. it should be good enough for them.  Fine... you sit in that old building with asbestos wrapped around the pipes.  You try to learn science with the same tools from 1965.    And we'll teach keyboarding with  typewritters.   Things costs more now days.  The schools need more money.   And if you think you can do it cheaper...  get on the school board.   Sit in a session and hear about the kid that slinked out of his desk and then arm crawled out of the classroom  when the teacher was helping another kid.   The kid that is sent to school for the first time in a new district the 3rd week of school and they won't even send the kid with a PENCIL!    Even when my kids were in school in  the 1990's  parents didn't pull kids in and out of school on a whim.. New kids only moved in at the beginning or maybe at the semester.   New kids move in and out weekly.  I figure most are running from Landlords,  exes or other bills.   These type of kids  require  more help.   More special education,  more counseling,  more guidance.    You get what you pay for.   Sorry,  hope this doesn't turn too political.    Just my opinion. 

And don't forget about the roads.   I live on township roads.  Right now they are blacktopped.   They are reoiled and chip on a schedule.   These roads are wearing out.   There is not enough money to fix them or totally redo them.   Let's be honest.   Farmers are the ones that are the hardest on those roads.   They weren't built for semis  and big 4 wheel drive tractors carrying a load.    I personally don't want to go back to gravel.    If I live long enough  I will probably live on a gravel road again.