Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

Now that the start of school is nearing, I just wanted to get a feel for how many of you were able to afford your extortion fee to La Cosa Boostra this year. How many of you were able to pony up the minimum $250 to purchase your student athlete a starting spot or a varsity spot? Due to illness and lost time from work I wasn?’t able to come up with the ?‘donation?’ that will assure my son a spot on varsity. Nor could I assure my daughter the same starting spot I was apparently able to purchase last year.

Unfortunately I also didn?’t think to exercise any open enrollment option that I hear is happening this year to get my kids the chance to either make varsity or get a starting spot in the other district along with my protection payment. A neighbor of mine?’s kid didn?’t get a varsity spot this year her at good old North. So $500 later and a trip to Central and guess what? Yep, a starting spot on varsity. A walk on. What a message was sent to the kids at Central who undoubtedly worked their butts off and the sacrifices they make throughout the year only to have someone be able to purchase a spot that puts them on the bench. What message is sent to my kids when the blowhard arrogant neighbor of mine says ?“You just have to learn what pay to play REALLY means.?” (wink-wink)

Well, I am going to start saving now. I hope to have no less than $1,000 per kid to pay La Cosa Boostra next year to buy my kids?’ spots on their respective teams. That?’s about $40 per week I need to sock away. Given that the pay to play fees have gone up and will go up again next year and given that it is now costing me $20 or more each thankful in my soccer mom SUV to run the kids here and there I will be voting against all levies put forth by the schools because my money is needed elsewhere in the schools. In other word, the schools and La Cosa Boostra have offered me a choice to either support the district overall and build schools or support my kids in their academic and athletic pursuits. Hmmm, I think I?’ll go with my kids.

Apparently that is one of the things that the school board fails to consider in their requests for money for levies. We already pay a lot for other things and those costs are going up too. I pay to play; I pay for uniforms; I pay to run kids to practices; I pay for snacks for the team; I pay for peripheral equipment; I pay for warm-ups; I pay for everything in at least one kid?’s sport. I pay, I pay, I pay. I pay for all but one item used by my son?’s sport and the transportation to away games. Since I go to them anyway, I could take him. What would I then need to pay the school anything for?

Let me save my money to pay La Cosa Boostra. They obviously are the only ones with any influence in the district.

Curious

I'm a little curious about that as well. I've heard that there were a couple of boys that moved from North to Central to play football. I've heard lots of theories but nothing seem very muich steeped in fact. But one notion did seem a little odd... One of the boys that made the move is a Senior this year. Does that make sense for a boy to move from North to Central in his Senior year esspecially if he is an athlete?

There has to be more to this situation. Frankly, as a parent I'd be a little upset myself if kids from North were moving over to Central (as well as the other way around) and bumping my kid from a spot they earned.

I guess the $64,000 question is... Why is the school board still allowing for open enrollment if they must continue to shuffle the lines of school boundaries?

By Tiger parent

$64,000 answer


Tiger Parent,

I am sure you were asking a rhetorical question but here goes my thoughts anyway. In order for a football player, a senior especially, to be able to expect to be recruited, they have to play for Central. Central is THE established program in this burg. Scouts, for the most part, aren?’t going to spend a lot of time at North. How do I know this? I went through the same scenario with my baseball player two years ago and I know a scout for OSU baseball. They pretty much don?’t look at North with the same viability as Central but probably will in another couple of years or sooner if North suddenly becomes a force to be reckoned with in one sport or another. So you can rest assured that if a parent feels their athlete is scholarship caliber, they will make the decision to move them to Central with a nice little charitable donation paid to what the poster above calls La Cosa Boostra.

The $64,000 answer to your question is?…. (drum roll please) ?…. P for Politics.

Politics rule the city, township and most importantly rule the schools. Why is the school board allowing open enrollment, etc.? Because of the political influence of La Cosa Boostra and the teacher?’s union. Those are the entities the school board reports and responds to, not the voters or taxpayers. We just vote and pay taxes, we cannot influence those we elect to represent us. Do you think that a little group of kids living in Mingo matter to the board in comparison to a winning football season at Central? Do you think a few stragglers out Stemen Road compare to filling the seats at the North Stadium? No offense to any of those kids because I have friends living in both locations, but the answer is no, the boars or La Cosa Boostra care unless you have an athlete there they want and then ?‘special arrangements?’ will be made. Remember the Marcella Packer ?‘deal?’?

Way to stoop to their level

I hope what your saying is not true about the La Cosa Boostra. Maybe this posting of yours will bring some awareness to the issues and get it corrected.

I am a little disappointed that you would follow up by doing exactly the same thing. Why is it so hard for people to do the right thing anymore? Why not bring it to someone's attention and fight the system? Instead you decide to do exactly what you are complaining about in the first place. Your kids should be so proud.

So because you need to save money to make the inappropriate payment you will sacrifice our schools and community by voting no on the bond issue? What a great reason to vote no. Forget about all the legitimate reasons to vote yes and vote no for selfish reasons. You are now part of the problem not the solution.