Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

Recently I attended an event at the Pickerington North High school complex. During my visit I was standing near a parent whose child attended another central Ohio growing school district and he just marveled at the massive complex at these two schools. He made a comment to another parent and she said, ?“They did it up right?” (when they built the North High School complex).

My wife and I have heard similar comments from other parents and students visiting for the first time the Pickerington North High School complex.

In all of the times I have been at Central or the Tiger Stadium I have never heard any comments even close to what I hear at North about the expansive campus.

However when you bring this to the attention of the school board members they either ignore your comments or they want to tell you that you are seeing things and it is just your imagination.

Some of the scripted arguments they use are, ?“there are a lot of people around here that do not want to replace the Tiger Stadium because of the memories?”? Then there is the 9 year difference between 1992 and 2001 and the differences in building materials. Now I am hearing complaints that North High School is at capacity while Central is only at 1200 students. As the kids would say DUH!!! If both schools are so equal then why do all of the kids want to go to North?

Why is the School Board so against addressing the real problems and why do they not want to listen to our citizens and our taxpayers. I know, I know, I am the only one complaining. That is pure Barbara Streisand. I am also told the kids don?’t complain but they sure as hell flock to the North High School when given a choice.


The other night I was cutting through Opportunity Way to go to the Library. There the schools have parked the Pickerington School Buses on a Public road. Even at 25 MPH the two girls darting from between the buses parked on the street gave me pause and a close call. Now a night or so later I am told by a North High Parent that the Principal at Central had volunteered to have the buses parked there until the bus company can find a permanent place to park the buses. I asked the North High Parent why they didn?’t park the buses on school property at the North High Complex. First it is very interesting that a North High parent would know so much about the buses at Central and she had it scripted to her by her handlers at the PTA. The second issue in placing the buses at Central, as she told me, is they had a portable classroom there for the bus company supervisor and to operate out of.

OK, OK. So let me get this straight. North High School is at capacity and they have NO PORTABLE CLASSROOMS. Central is at least 600 students below capacity and it has portables. The second excuse is that vacant ground at North is their cross country track.

They wonder why they can?’t pass a levy.


By Voting NO

Coming Clean Continued

Continuing on with the disparity issue.

Clearly the school board in past years when to a great deal of trouble to justify the sports complex at North. I know there was an effort on the part of the athletic boosters and the other booster clubs to get that squeaker of a 40 vote margin to build that complex.

I truly believe that a majority of those people that voted in favor of building the North complex had no idea of the massiveness of the project or the total waste of money they had just approved once the building took shape. Today after the truth has set in we have school board members running for office they will not be going out to listen to the voters because they are running unopposed. They firmly believe I am the only one complaining despite the 2 to 1 margin against their levies at the ballot box.

Wouldn?’t it be refreshing to hear from a school board that admitted that they had made a mistake instead of the current rhetoric? Wouldn?’t be refreshing to see a board be honest with and how they present their arguments? Instead they talk down to everyone and treat us all like we are second graders. Wouldn?’t it be refreshing to see a school board treat the entire district and its students equally? What they fail to realize is even though the Central High School district is held in contempt by the board those in the Central District still have their right to vote.

Then there is the dog and pony show with the OSFC. They are trying to Barbara Streisand the voters once more with this advisory commission with made up facts and figures.

The OSFC does allow each High School to have its own sports complex. One Football Stadium and one Baseball Stadium. No where in their FRC does it even mention even considering a football stadium for Central. The reason, the FRC was not feed the information.

What the FRC and OSFC are suggesting in there TWO needed elementary schools is to over build and waste out tax dollars. An example of that is in the Pickerington Elementary building designed for 600 students. Under today?’s OSFC standards and in the future Pickerington Elementary will only accommodate 391 students. The facts are PLSD could build smaller elementary schools but they would not be funded by the OSFC.


Have any of you seen a plan that proposes any alternatives other than what the FRC and their controlled commission recommended?


I think it is time for the Pickerington School Board to be honest. I know, I know, I am the only one complaining.





By Voting NO

Clean Cont.

Now how did the school board counter their big lie in 2000 with North High School Complex? It has been a plan of deny and divert. Deny they overspent and Central is just as good as North High School. They then divert the argument by citing other cities and even out of state examples of High Schools with no facilities.

The school board and the administration have been caught my momma with their arm half way into the cookie jar.

What is even more damaging is the trust from those that once supported the schools and their antics of the past. Clearly those that live in the North High School district feel a high level of mistrust in what the board says because of what was promised at the North High School Complex and what was delivered and now are being told it is only our imagination of any differences.

I have heard it asked before but no one at the school board has ever answered. What are the operating expenses for each school building in the district? If you go to the school board and ask despite it being public record you will not get an answer. They will simply tell you they do not have the data. Their accounting system is not set up that way. They are not accountants. Pick your reason of why not.

What might persuade me to vote for a levy would be:

1. Have the School Board publicly admit to the mistake and the wasted tax dollars being funneled to the North High School complex.

2. Provide for a plan to make the two High School sport facilities equal and I don?’t mean a $7 Million complex like North?’s. If they can put $750,000 in rehabbing 80% of Tiger Stadium and still say it will cost $4.5 Million for a new Tiger Stadium at the Central High School then I don?’t buy their crap.

3. Quit treating the Central High School parents and students like the ugly red headed stepchildren of the district.

4. Finally set down and listen to the voters. This Barbara Streisand of these tightly controlled advisory committees are flawed and we all know it. For those that had anything to do with the Boundary committees you will know quickly what I am talking about. By the way have they even adopted their FRC report?

I think my proposal would be build one Elementary school with a 750 student capacity at the Sycamore Creek location. Included in that levy would be a simply football/track stadium up near Central High School. Included in this proposal would be a limited year round school schedule to help in those areas and in the schools that are over crowded. Even if we could just fill one elementary school with a summer school it would delay future needs until growth can be controlled and the taxpayers catch up with the outflow of their hard earned money.


By Voting NO

share to be fair

I cannot believe you would even suggest taxpayers wasting any more money on athletic complexes, Central should share the North facilities...end of conversation.

Why didn't you run for PLSD school board office?

I have been told that only 25 kids from the central area go to North...in the future that option will not be on the table since the schools are full. Did you want to pay more tax dollars to move those portables off the land at central when they were not needed at another location yet...would this satisfy the perception of inequality for you in some small way? If you want efficiency, why propose some waste of money of moving the portables or building more athletic complexes when the current complexes can handle the demand and could be shared with a little logistics...

I agree the board should admit a mistake...but I do not think it will happen. How long are we going to punish our kids and the taxpayers over past mistakes? I guess you will be posting here to keep that flame alive in the next election you choose not to run in too.