Nobody should be able to get out from paying taxes simply because they feel they aren’t getting enough benefits. People would be fleeing taxation with the enthusiasm snowriders head for the slopes on a bluebird day.

But Central Oregon Community College needs to do a better job of proving to residents of North Lake County that staying in COCC’s taxing district is worthwhile. Some residents say they aren’t getting enough benefits for the $127,000 a year in property taxes North Lake County residents pay in. So they want out.

They have petitioned the state’s Higher Education Coordinating Commission that they should be allowed to leave the taxing district. The COCC board has asked the commission to reject the idea.

The residents in the COCC district in Lake County do get benefits. In-district students get a discount on tuition. They pay $99 per credit hour. Out-of-district students pay $138 per credit hour. COCC also hosts North Lake juniors and seniors on the COCC campus each year. About three graduates of North Lake attend COCC in the fall. At least five North Lake High School graduates received a $1,500-a-year Honors or Merit scholarship in the last five years. Out-of-district students are not eligible for those. Four students also earned Foundation Scholarships, worth up to $4,000 per year.

So does COCC provide $127,000 worth of services to North Lake County if COCC had to itemize it? That would be very difficult to answer. COCC spokesman Ron Paradis said it’s a “wacky” question and wondered if it was a “trap.”

It’s not a trap, nor is it wacky. We are not saying all taxing districts should be required to prove that every taxed individual gets back every dime in services.

But there has to be a point where the disconnect between any services provided and the taxes paid is so extreme that it should snap.

Some people may not want to pay the taxes to COCC, no matter what argument COCC makes. But Paradis says COCC knows it has to do a better job of communicating its value to North Lake residents.