Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

usable life seems to be off

seems like we are re writing that usable or servicable life of portables in this district, since some of ours are older than that. I guess this is just another thing that rings hollow with the voters when they see old portables apparently usable for Pickerington kids.

Still not listening

It's pretty obvious that the PSLD reads this blog. They have taken ideas and used them in interviews with the press almost word for word.

But it's interesting to note that they pick and choose what they say from the tid-bits offered here. The one concept presented here that they have completely ignored is the idea of building just one larger scale school versus two smaller schools. We've all seen it on this site.

Now before Any Mouse and Amy Stang start firing away at me for offering this observation, stop and think for a moment. The school board knows that the public in general does not trust them, and they know that unless something major happens to turn the tide, this levy is doomed to the same fate as the last two. Ask yourself this... Why have they not even considered the notion of one larger school versus two smaller schools?

I think I know why.

By Watching quietly

Here's one reason

They put it on the ballot before and we voted it down something like 2-1.

Follow-up for Central Dad

I posted this in response to your last posting. For some reason, it was ''hidden.''

3-7-2006
No, not an educator, BOE member, etc. Just a another Central Parent that is frustrated with our overcrowded schools and sees the dramatic need for this bond issue to pass.

The info on the district website (Leadership, Treasurer) is not overall spending per student. It's only the administrative costs per pupil. Spending per pupil is more like $8000/pupil. The $800-900 per student is just what the district spends in adminstration costs. I'd assume this to be just administrators. According to the footnote at the bottom of the chart, the info comes from the Ohio Dept. of Education website. I'm sure there's lots more data there. And, I'm pretty sure everything is on a per student basis. How else can districts be compared? You note that if new buildings are opened, operating costs go up. Beyond teachers, that are already teaching these ''overflow'' kids in other buildings/portables and therefore, already accounted for, there is an additional cost for guidance, principals, cafeteria workers, maintenance, etc. It's interesting to note on this chart also that the costs increased when North/Lakeview opened, and then decreased. This district is going to continue to grow, and therefore, the overall adm. cost/student will decrease after the 2 proposed buildings come on line (2 years), until another new (future) building is opened. At least, that's how I see it. Portables are not a long term answer for this district. They just buy a little time. Eventually (and we're there at least at Violet, Pickerington, and Heritage), the common space (cafeterias, gyms, bathrooms, nurse's clinics, art & music rooms, etc.) doesn't support the surplus of students. We need a permanent, long term solution (more schools) because this district is far from being ''built-out.''

-By Anonymous