There are some good reasons to vote ''NO'' on the PLSD's issue 4. I plan on voting NO and not because I think the school district doesn't need the cash (they do) and not because I don't have the cash (I do).
One reason is because our school board's simple majority is playing possum (Sigman, Sanders and Monhollen).
Why do these three think they are above attending meetings and raising issues critical to the success of our district to local government
officials? Are they too good to allocate their personal time to speak before city council? Or is it they just don't care? Or maybe they find it
easier to place levy after levy before the voters. Their silence is blanket approval of the city's development and TIF policies, each irreparably harming OUR school district! Their lack of protest begs for a ''NO'' vote!
When Pickerington diverted millions of dollars away from school district coffers and school board president Monhollen said it's not his problem, then it's time to vote ''NO!'' on everything until it becomes his problem! And it
will eventually.
When the school board says, ''We combined the $77.5M bond levy with an operating levy so we'll have enough money to open them both'' and turns
around 180 degrees on that promise and threatens to not open the new schools if we don't pass issue 4, then it's time to call in their cards and vote ''NO!''
When PLSD was in a real bind and hadn't yet passed the $77.5M bond and operating levy, we heard all sorts of clamoring from district, city and township officials. We had growth summit meetings and ''cute little sound bites'' from all the above about how they were going to cooperate to better manage the growth throughout the district. We believed them and passed those levies. WE WERE SUCKERS !!!
Since then, no cooperation whatsoever, while Pickerington has shamelessly, recklessly added thousands of single and multi-family homes to the school district. Utter silence from the school board while the city wreck's any semblance of a growth plan the district might have had. A couple of area developers and their friends are getting fat & happy from our district and
the school board's indifference. It's madness I tell you, madness!
And when the city unveiled it's ''revised'' master growth plan with little or no commercial development within PLSD boundaries, we heard not a peep from our school board. Again, it's easier to ask the voters for the cash. I think we're making it too easy. It's time to send a message loud and clear - it's time to vote NO!
It's time to force more ''cute little sound bites'' and cooperation between local officials. That won't happen if we pass the levy. In fact, that
won't happen if we fail this levy and turn around and pass the levy in March or May. The heat will be turned up after a failure this November and must remain high until the big problem in our community is solved: our weak commercial and industrial tax base.
The school board needs to realize they are an integral part to the success of our schools, community, and overall quality of life. Silence doesn't work. The board has had enough time to experiment with ''the silent treatment'' the last 3 years. Stop playing possum and get in the game. The time for standing on the sidelines is OVER!
