Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

Being on city council I find myself in a difficult situation in posting this message. I am not trying to tell anyone what to do, especially other elected officials, but feel compelled to offer a suggestion.

If the last 2 building levies are a barometer for success it appears there is not adequate support in the community for additional schools and associated taxes. The main reason myself, David, Heidi & Ted were elected along with Mitch?’s appointment were to manage the growth in the city and lessen the impact on the schools. We are working on several important issues right now in hopes of fulfilling that goal but that is a separate subject, related yes, but not pertinent to this posting..

If the next school levy fails the school board may resort to drastic measures such as split-sessions.

I have the 2005 facilities review committee report in front of me and am taking my numbers from that report. Based on this report we currently have room for 650 more students in the district based on official building capacity assuming ZERO portables. Granted this is based on hard-numbers combining all available space in all schools.

This proposal is not perfect, it could affect extra-curricula?’s, exceeds ideal school sizes for Jr. High and High school but I believe offers a much better solution than split-sessions.

Proposal:

Combine 9-12th into North and Lakeview.
2006 est enrollment: 2935
Building capacity: 2650

I am of the opinion North and Lakeview could be reconfigured to accommodate the overflow of students if projections indeed become fact. If reconfiguration is not possible portables could be installed or some 9th graders could remain at Central.

Combine 7-8 into Central:
2006 est enrollment: 1702
Building capacity: 1800

Use Ridgeview and Diley for Middle schools:
2006 est enrollment: 1685
Building capacity: 1650

Harmon and Heritage now become/revert to Elementary schools and Pickerington, Fairfield, Tussing & Violet would remain Elementary.

2006 est enrollment: 3631
Building capacity: 4175

I?’m open to criticism or support of this proposal. I?’m just trying to offer alternatives to split-sessions. Here are the pros/cons that I thought of.

Pros:

Youngest students remain in their neighborhood school settings and portables are eliminated for them. This configuration wouldn?’t require a new elementary until 2012 based on projections.

Majority of portables are eliminated.

Eliminates ?“rich school/poor school?” mentality and ?“separate but equal?” thorns that still persist in the community. All students would attend North during their high-school years.

Allows City/Township to continue down path of managed growth in hopes of far less school impact.

Shows public ?“out of the box thinking?” that may help gain trust and support for future projects.

Cons:

Middle schools would remain at capacity, but not significantly over.

Jr/High School exceeds ideal building sizes.

Doesn?’t address needs about renovations to existing buildings.

Impacts extra-curricula?’s if sports team need to re-combined.

Possible short-term solution that doesn?’t address long-term needs if managed growth fails.


Just my 2 cents.

More thoughts

OK Brian, you opened a door and I?’ll walk through. While interviewing candidates for the city manager last year, one of the candidate references we visited was president of their school board. He mentioned that candidate was involved in establishing their Kindergarten Village. Given the issues faced by this district, I pressed for information. The short version of the explanation was that the city recognized that this very unique percentage of the student population had unique needs that weren?’t being met in the typical school building setting. They required an atmosphere that would serve their needs and most importantly, the need for space in the buildings for other elementary students.

Applying that line of thinking to the situation here in Pickerington, I approached the superintendent and a couple of board members last year with a proposal. What if the district and all of the communities supplying students to the district were to get together and perhaps explore reuse of the vacant Big Bear store as a Kindergarten Village? A unique ?“Kindergarten Only?” atmosphere could be created specifically for these students. Classroom space would be opened up in the elementary schools where it was mostly needed.

A safe, secure and nurturing atmosphere could be created for our youngest students that could possibly open the door on other opportunities. All day kindergarten? Consecutive half-day sessions in different parts of the building? I am sure there are people with much more educational experience who could recognize the opportunities something like this can offer.

Additional non-educational benefits of this proposal were numerous:

Parent and teacher parking would never be a problem. Buses could be staged in the parking lot during the day, rather then sent back to Pataskala or parked elsewhere in the city. Parking lots at nearly all elementary and middle school and at least one junior high were at capacity. Have you ever been to Heritage for Breakfast with a Buddy? Teachers or staff could park at Big Bear and be transported to the schools via bus. Yeah, I know that is reaching some, but it is an opportunity.

There was more space inside the building than would ever be needed by the Kindergarten population. Just think of the possibilities that the excess space would offer. With thoughtful and flexible design, the excess space could be used for extracurricular activities. Some of the clubs that meet at other schools could all meet together in one location and realize economies of scale as well as interaction between buildings rather than isolationism. A district-wide performing arts area could be looked at offering the younger students the chance to ?“star in their own plays?”, etc. without having to wait until high school. The possibilities for use of this ?“swing space?” just for the schools are numerous, but let?’s look outside the box at other opportunities.

What if the communities who populate the district were to have a partial financial buy-in of a facility such as this? The facility could be used after school hours for public meetings. Spaces could be set aside for renting out for civic functions. Part could be set up to reconfigure to a teen center on the weekends. In other words, Kindergarten Village by day, quasi-community center by night and on the weekends. All could benefit.

continued....

More thoughts, continued

Let?’s look down the road some. The student population will continue to grow -that is inevitable, but at what rate seems to be a point of contention. Perhaps in 5 years or so the facility is slightly reconfigured to also house 1st grade. You get the idea. Flexible and forward-thinking planning will result in higher rewards in the future. Demonstration of the fact that you are planning with flexibility in mind may earn more trust from the voters. None of us can see the future. The best we can do is make intelligent estimates and plan accordingly.

I don?’t have all the ideas or all of the solutions. I try to face challenges with common sense and the simplest approach first. I try to not make things more complicated than they need be. The vacant Big Bear store appears to be an opportunity that has slipped by. I hear that another retail enterprise is finalizing a deal to move in. Is there another opportunity in the school district where something like this can be explored? I don?’t know. Can the schools and the communities that populate the schools afford to explore ideas like this? I don?’t know. Are they even willing? I don?’t know. What I do know is that the current approach to marketing bond issues seems to not be working. Maybe it is time to look at new approaches to an old problem.

I don?’t have a copy of the facilities study in front of me and I?’m not on the School Board and I am not on staff so there may be mountains of information that shows why a concept such as this will never fly. I never really heard back from the schools on what I presented them. But I am a father with kids in the district and I am a taxpayer to the schools. In those roles I just have to wonder if the district has explored all opportunities and, to overuse an old analogy, really thought outside the box for creative solutions to the challenges facing all of us.

Mitch O?’Brien

Nicely Done

Way to go Brian and Mitch! Thanks for speaking out in this forum. What I can?’t understand is that, in both your messages, there were no threats, no bullying or no intimidation tactics. Just facts, logic and common sense. Therefore it is safe to assume that the schools will never digest your proposals.

That being said, the Shaver administration, in spite of a three vote opposition (or abstention) is doing a remarkable job at delivering on their promises. Things are beginning to take shape and the effects are being felt out here in the township. I keep reading that new building permits are down 70 percent over last year at this time. And I hear yours are down considerably too. Outstanding!!

One thing I would like to bring to light here for those that don?’t follow local governments, the city did something that no one else around here seems to be catching on to. They went out and hired nationally renowned experts in their fields to study impact fees, growth management, utility fees and all the other things they are working on. They employ one of the premier law firms in Ohio to represent them. What a difference that has made. That effect won't be felt for years when the city is NOT paying real estate settlements for a change! They are following a national trend and rather then overstaffing positions in-house, just because they can, they are instead contracting with outside specialists and experts in their fields. In-house expertise is great to a point. External specialists are generally more up-to-date on emerging technologies and techniques. They also see things from a more global perspective. They may cost a little more up front, but in the long term, you get ample return on your investment.

What I cannot understand is why the township and school district do not look outside for assistance. Does the President of the US run his own campaign? Nope! Does Blackwell or Petro? Nope! They hire campaign experts to run their campaigns. Maybe its time the schools seek experts to achieve what they cannot and will not in-house. Maybe its time for a change at the schools. Maybe it?’s time for them to stop talking and start listening.


By Township dude