Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

Everybody gets it, BUT MARK

Well Good morning PICKERINGTON!

What have we all learned over the last few days?

First the chief fund raiser, citizen intimidator, and big time School Levy Chairman doesn?’t have a clear vision of how our Ohio schools are funded. His only knee jerk reaction to getting more money for our schools is to call us all greedy and pass the levies.

On the positive side of all of this, all of the other people reading and responding to the discussion seem to fully understand how our schools are funded. With the exception of the ONE!

It attracted the attention of a DEMOCRATIC county commissioner candidate. Briefly looking at his posted web site he appears to have some very good ideas I will be looking forward to hearing the details of his plans.

It also seems to indicate that the readers and contributors of this discussion page are BI-PARTSAN. I know there were both REPUBLICANS and DEMOCRATS making some very strong and common sense remarks. Unlike those that have pushed PATA into a REPUBLICAN corner trying to get them to file campaign finance information so the special interests of this community could find out who opposes them, we just showed that PATA represents the community. So Mark, what is this discussion page, DEMOCRAT or REPUBLICAN?

It had a School Board member explaining, in detail, how our schools are funded. We had other members of the community giving suggestions to resolve the problems. I can only hope that our elected leaders also take a look at the suggestions and community comments and begin to act on them. It is apparent that those that are presently in office will not be there much longer because as this discussion over the last few days indicates YOUR CAMPAIGN CHALLENGERS ARE LOOKING FOR THE SOLUTIONS THAT NONE OF YOU HAVE BEEN ABLE TO COME UP WITH IN YEARS. THE ANSWERS TO OUR SCHOOL FUNDING AND GROWTH PROBLEMS ARE OUT THERE, IT IS NOW UP TO THOSE ELECTED LEADERS TO FIND AND IMPLEMENT SOME LASTING SOLUTIONS FOR OUR COMMUNITY PROBLEMS.


By Billy D. Davis

School Funding Solutions

I find myself agreeing with Billy D. Davis.

I must have missed the solution to our school funding situation. So sorry... I have even taken off my colored glass and re-read some of the postings to find ALL the solutions that are out there.

It seems some are suggesting that the soluion is by defeating every City of Pickerington office holder our class size will go from 20.1 to 11.1 overnight, we will be able to stop housing so many of our elementary students in trailers, and we will be able to pay our teachers competitively in today's marketplace.

Or is the solution that we simply wait for the State of Ohio to provide us with all the money to address our needs? Or, with all due respect to the candidate, elect a Democrat to be our County Commissioner and he or she will solve our school funding situation when the State of Ohio legislature cannot?

And, no one has yet compared the school taxes that we pay to other communities with comparable medium household incomes. One of the reasons we do so well among newer voters on levies and bond issues is they are shocked how LOW our school taxes are compared to their previous community. And, not too many of them follow this website.

Yes, we need TO WORK HARD to limit residential growth in our district and attract QUALITY commercial development to OUR school district. And, yes we need to throw some officeholders out on their cans in 2003. And, yes, we need to also solve our current school funding issue ...the benefits of limiting residential growth and attracting commercial development won't be realized for years to come.

Now exactly what is it that I missed?

Teacher Salaries - BCSD v. PLSD

I encourage all to use the information on the ODE website that Dr. Rigelman suggested.

I found all the average teacher salaries for 2001-2002 for all school districts. Let's compare ours with Beachwood and another Central Ohio district, say, Westerville.

Beachwood: $59,057 for a class size of 11.1
Westerville: $53,812 for a class size of 18.8
Pickerington: $48,726 for a class size of 20.1

Now, let's consider the competitive market forces for a moment. You are the top in your education class at, let's say, Ashland University. You have offers for a teaching position in Beachwood and in Pickerington. According to ODE, both communities have high medium households; the starting salaries at Beachwood are 20% more than at Pickerington and the class size are 55% smaller at Beachwood. Which teaching position will you pick?

I'm afraid that I am not the one who chooses to move to Beachwood ...

Where do you stand Mark?

Mark,

You continue to point out these problems you see with the PLSD. I don?’t think anyone is disagreeing with you on the problems that we have here in Pickerington. These problems were clearly pointed out to you and others in your two groups in 1997. You guys formed the two committees to study the residential growth problem and how to attract more commercial property into the district, what did you and your cohorts find? What were your road blocks back then? Who was your road block? Why didn?’t you ever make a report? If you did, who did you give the report to?

Now you tell us all the problems you see with the PLSD. Why have you sat quietly while this community has exploded in new homes? Who is at fault? Do you take ANY part of the responsibility?

The state should never be responsible for local education. If they ever become responsible then the local parents will lose control of their schools and the schools will adhere to lower standards. You and members of this school board have promoted that for years now. Well they just wasted everyone?’s time trying to buy time to get more levies passed. Now everyone has our collective backs to the wall.

The misinformation that you continue to spout is not doing you or anyone connected to the school system any good. You continue to claim PLSD taxpayers are greedy. Yet the Pickerington Area Chamber of Commerce that you advertise in states on page 13 that our real estate tax rates are the highest in the area. Is that a misprint Mark?

You then claim we all must work hard to slow the residential growth. OK, we on the same page there. How do you propose to do that Mark? I have heard nothing from your finger tips, but jabs at the PATA people. Why do you always add the adjective ''QUALITY'' in front of commercial development? I believe the reason you add Quality is so that you and your cohorts on the city council along with the PACC members can define commercial by your standards and in doing so keep those projects going to the special interests that support you and some of the school board members.

You are right in that it took PICKERINGTON a long time to get itself into this mess and it won?’t be getting out of it for some time. I am sure our children will have grown up and moved away before the current problems can be solved.

So Mark where do you stand? You have told us all about the problems of the PLSD caused by the lack of commercial and high residential growth rates. When do you make a FIRM stand without wavering on where you are on this issue? Do you public support this Democratic County Commissioner Candidate? Do you support his ideas? Do you want to see the current city council men replaced? Do you favor seeing a new Mayor? I think we would all like to know Mark.


By Billy D. Davis