Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

Now that the housing boom has gone KAPUT, do we really need to keep building all these new schools?

Cancel the contracts and let the taxpayers keep the money.

Don't be empire builders. Build only what is needed.

YES, my kid went to school in portables, yours can too.

By Cornfuzed

Yes

Build the schools. Housing values are maintained in areas that value schools. Bexley, UA, Dublin - all spend on the schools and see positive returns on home value.

Your own thesis of home values demands valuation of schools.

By Mr. Wizard

Not to Mention

Not to mention the 15,000+ new jobs being created at the Rickenbacker Intermodal Transportation Complex. Many of those folks will be looking for homes in a community just like ours. We should be planning now on accomodating them.

Hold up now!!

Although many believe that the housing boom has gone away I would say don't count your chickens yet. I believe the most recent bond issue will build three new schools and if we can believe the board and their levy committee nearly half of the new classroom space will be filled once these three new schools open.

What the new schools will do is remove the trailers from the school lots. (if we can trust the board)

I read recently in the Columbus Monthly and the Dispatch that home values have stayed positive here in Pickerington and New Albany. The only two central Ohio communities to maintain their values in a down market. The City has imposed impact fees and required higher design standards in the last couple of years. Those two issues will increase the initial cost of new homes and raise the level in the pond for us all. The higher new homes costs will also limit the number of new residents able to buy in Pickerington. Hopefully the feds and the state will tighten up the loan requirements and how they allow the buyers to be qualified for new home loans. That is all good news for our school district.

So I believe the three new schools will help the PLSD catch up with the influx of new students. So I wouldn't pull the plug just yet.

I am also hopeful that we can see the light at the end of the tunnel and look inward to improve the facilities that we already have. If we can sustain a lower rate of growth over the next five or so years then our need for new buildings will be extended out well beyond what is called for in the current Master Plan. That means the collective value of our homes will provide more millage to the schools per student and that in short lowers the taxes for each of us.

What some on this web site miss is that OSFC was set up for a couple of reasons. One of the big issues was that school districts around the state would neglect the facilities around them. They would not maintain their buildings and those building would fall apart before there time. I think a new school board should look at the realities of what is happening in our community and adjust the 10 year master plan accordingly. Yes I would respectfully ask that a new stadium or a new redo of the current stadium at Central be considered to add into that new plan. Clearly the growth numbers that were used in 2005 are no longer valid and at some point they will need to be revised. At this rate we will NOT NEED that third high school in 2010.

Lets see the new board honor their promises.

By Oldtimer