Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

You'll wish I wasn't back

''Without these schools, we are really going to compromise what we do in educating over the next few years,'' said board President Lisa Reade. ''We need the space. We are out.''

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By Central Dad

Do over...

Sorry....

My thanks to the webmasters for posting a topic of the week. I?’ll be sending you a suggestion or two through your PATA email address since I trust you?’ll keep me anonymous when you read it.

I had hoped to remain silent because of the negative turns these discussions seem to take. Alas, I must speak out. First of all, calm down. Let?’s discuss options. The schools think that 750 students to a school is about right. As asked many times before in this forum, on what do you base that?

If we have 750 elementary students to house from portables into real classrooms, why don?’t we discuss a 1,000 student elementary school? This will allow us 25% growth. Can the schools tell us the projected enrollment increases in the next 5 years strictly for elementary schools? Will it be 25%?

Now on to Daphne?’s comments, a family has one child and plans to have four. Well let me tell you something from personal experience, I wanted four but when I had number two, we said ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!! I am trying to be humorous here but let?’s face reality. How many of you have kids in sports, band or some other extracurricular activity? I have two and I can barely afford that. Four would bankrupt me. Since the schools pay for essentially nothing, believe it or not, my decision on the size of my family has to be, in part, a sound financial decision. I can?’t afford four sets of braces, four uniforms, four instruments?…. You get the picture.

I am sure there are safety considerations made when choosing locations for placement of portable classrooms. Shoot, after what, 17 years of using them we should be able to give other districts lessons on effective logistics for portable use. I am not sure that safety arguments can hold water. Are what we have now in the best location or best overall? Maybe not but certainly new placements will be based on lessons learned. OK, I know the district isn?’t much good at lessons learned but isn?’t portable logistics more of a facilities department project over a board or Stemen project?

Cost of portables versus cost of brick and mortar is absolutely not being addressed publicly by the district. It is just one of many questions posed in this forum they won?’t talk to us about. I have to wonder why. I guess we?’re just not smart enough to understand the complex calculations used to answer the question. We are smart enough to understand that their levy request is $70 per hundred thousand of assessed value and my house is currently assessed at $215,700 so the levy will cost me $150.99 in increased taxes provided that the county doesn?’t suddenly decide to raise it and that would be $12.58 per month which is less that I pay for anything except maybe the newspaper and that would be $3.15 per week which is less than I pay for 2 gallons of gas and that would be about $.42 per day which is less than that darned Snickers bar I can?’t stay away from each day and that equals about $.02 per hour and so on and so on. So I can?’t understand construction costs but I can calculate a levy cost in 20 seconds or less.

I think Daphne was out of line with the name calling. I have to wonder her involvement in developing the ongoing mantra of Pickerington Cash and Pickerington Trash and all the other famous brands. Daphne, were you one of the people I saw wearing the T-shirts with that on it?

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By Central Dad

Do over... part 2

Central Mom, you hit a point in you response that needs exploration. Grounds maintenance. How much lawn is there to mow at the existing schools? Here?’s an idea. Let?’s expand the current elementary schools and add parking lots so desperately needed. Let?’s throw some of my 20 second math at that. We need to seat 750 elementary students. We have 5 existing elementary schools. We need to add 150 seats to each school to meet this requirement. In order to meet the need we need to add 6 classrooms to each elementary. How much would it cost to add 6 classrooms to each elementary that essentially would require no land purchase? Let?’s be generous. Let?’s add a new cafeteria, a new gymnasium, a new art room, a new music room 3 each boys and girls restrooms and say a dozen or so miscellaneous rooms for whatever our teacher think they need them for. Let?’s be even more generous. Let?’s reconfigure the existing gyms and cafeterias into swing space that can be called multiuse space. Through creative use of partitions or other movable wall systems commercially available we can make this space do for virtually anything. What does this addition to each school cost in total? Less than $70 per $100K? More? The same? I don?’t know and I don?’t know if the schools even considered something like this.

I have rambled on long enough. I had hoped that the district would take a step back and look at options like these and more before they come to us for the same old levy. They didn?’t and for that I will vote no. Is it because I can?’t afford it? No. I can give up one Starbuck?’s a day or 2 gallons of gas a week or cancel my subscription to the newspaper. We can afford it but we don?’t want to pay it because this board and administration has absolutely not explored all options nor will they. They want to play stubborn? I am the king of stubborn. I ask for creativity and they give me insipidness. They tell me to make do with what they propose and I tell them make do with what they have. I quote this ?– ?“we are really going to compromise what we do in educating over the next few years?” ?– Lisa Reade. Is that a threat, a promise or the reality? Are you saying the teachers who educate our children will educate less? Come on Lisa, teachers teach and from what I have seen of the majority of the teachers I have come in contact with they will continue to do so at the best of their ability if they have to do it standing in the parking lot.

Enough of my lip. Mom, hang in there and don?’t take offense to inanity. Bruce, Yosemite Pam and the rest of those offering opinions on solutions, keep them coming. Sooner or later this board has to listen.


By Central Dad

You're Right, I Apologize

Central Dad,

You're right. I was out of line calling people names. I shouldn't have done it and I apologize to all the readers of this website.

It was a knee-jerk reaction to the comment about keeping kids in trailers. In my opinion, trailers are money down the drain. It's the difference between investing and consuming. Trailers are necessary because voters won't approve a bond issue, but they certainly don't appreciate in value. On the other hand, property in the area has been increasing in value. I don't now, and probably never will, understand the people who think trailers are the best option.

Nonetheless, I was out of line. Please accept my apology.

By Daphne Duck