Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

Dear friends and neighbors:

No doubt you've read the story in this morning's Dispatch about School Board member Lori Sanders efforts to raise a ruckus over the Board's decision last Monday to keep Heritage's fourth graders there next year for fifth grade.

Here's the rest of the story: We've run out of space in our two middle schools. Although those schools were built to hold 650 students each, special education programs have reduced their practical capacity to barely 600 each. Even the kids we already know will be in 5th and 6th grade next year won't fit, and it seems reasonable to expect even more.

We could move one or two of our modular classroom buildings to Harmon and Diley to hold the overflow. However, there is little room at either school for modular units. Each unit costs $32,000 to move (so much for calling them ''portables''). And these modular units are expensive to hear, they present security concerns, they overburden the common facilities (lunchrooms, libraries, gyms, art rooms, lavatories and hallway, etc.) of the schools where they are deployed. Students assigned to these units have to go outside to use the school's common facilities. And moving these units loosens their screws and nails and generally shortens their already short useful lives. They are no bargain.

On the other hand, there are 12 unused classroons in Heritage, which currently are being used for administrative offices and storage. You read that right -- twelve unused classrooms, when there are trailer parks surrounding the rest of our elementaries.

Mrs. Oakes and I have complained for years, but to deaf ears, about using elementary classrooms for offices and storage when so many of our elementary students are in modulars. Indeed, if we were using all 12 of these classrooms as classrooms now, we would not need to have any modulars at our elementary schools. You can thank School Board members Sanders and Sigman, and former School Board member Carlier, for the fact that these classrooms are going unused.

Fifth Grade at Heritage Pt. 2

In the meantime, the state auditor's office has twice recommended that the PLSD convert both Harmon and Diley Middle Schools into elementary schools and return the 12 unused Heritage classrooms to proper use. They suggest that, at the same time, we move from the current K-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-12 grade configuration to a simpler K-6, 7-8, 9-12 configuration. With these changes, and assuming growth does not exceed 33o new students per year, the auditor's office has found, the PLSD could delay building another school for 3-5 years, and cease using any modulars at all for at least a year or two.

The auditor's office also believes that this would produce substantial savings (more than $1 million per year) in the PLSD's operating expenses, when compared with the additional operating cost of bringing another school on line, and at a time when the PLSD needs to stretch every penny. Each additional school building adds another layer of utility, maintenance and administrative costs.

Mr. Stemen estimated that adding a fifth grade at Heritage would carry a one-time cost of $97,000. However, Mrs. Oakes, Mr. Monhollen and myself believe this estimate is inflated, and that the true cost could be less than $10,000. In any case, the three of us believe that the PLSD needs to seriously consider implementing the state auditor's recommendation, no later than the year after next. With that in mind, adding a fifth grade to Heritage should properly be viewed as the first step in that process. Whatever the PLSD spent to do this, it would not be wasted, but would move us in the direction that we probably need to go. And we would rather spend $40,000 on something we can use, than $32,000 or $64,000 to move junk.

Keeping Heritage's current fourth graders at Heritage for fifth grade also will enable us to keep those kids together for another year, rather than splitting them (as we otherwise would have to) between Diley and Harmon. Some parents have complained that splitting these kids up in this fashion is disruptive and upsetting.

Fifth Grade at Heritage Pt. 3

As to the educational issues, most school districts in Ohio use a K-6, 7-8, or a K-5, 6-8 grade configuration with no dire effects. Ironically, the PLSD went to the current configuration, not for educational reasons, but to make fuller use of existing classroom space. I attended fifth and sixth grade in an elementary school, as most of you probably did as well. I certainly am no worse for the experience and, in fact, remember those two years of my youth with great fondness.

I can see some benefits in our current middle schools, and have been impressed by the passion and by some of the arguments of their defenders. However, I do not believe we can any longer afford them. We need to make full use of existing classroom space before asking taxpayers for the funds to build more. We also need to take every measure we can that enables us to minimize operating expense without damaging the educational quality of our schools.

There are other benefits to such grade reconfiguration. This will bring our elementary schools closer to the neighborhoods they serve. More students will be able to walk to school, which will help cut transportation costs. It will be more convenient for parents to attend PTO meetings, parent teacher conferences and other school functions, and to work as volunteers in the schools. And it will be easier, and safer, for children to use school facilities after-hours for scout meetings, PYAA events or simply for kite flying and pick-up baseball, football and soccer games.

But let me know what you think.

While we're at it.....

Since there seems to be a little room in the $97,000 estimate why can't the same mover's stop by Pickerington Elementary & pick up the Administration, once they've got Heritage cleaned out? This is an Elementary School that will be bursting at the seams - they need every bit of space they can get - maybe it can become the cafeteria they need.....That way the kids don't have to do gym in their classrooms because the MPR is the cafe.

And on a closing note I certainly hope you have told Laurie ''I want to be like New Albany'' Sanders that had she & her buddies not wasted $17 million dollars on the Jr./Sr. High complex for aesthetic reasons - Monday nights conversation might never had to happen because we would be building at least one new Elementary with the excess !!

By Moving Crew....