Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

Ideas abound to avoid split sessions in Pickerington

Saturday, August 13, 2005

Charlie Roduta

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH




Say split sessions and be ready for the responses.

Year-round schooling. Redistricting. Reconfiguring the schools.

Anything to avoid split sessions. From parent to City Council member, Pickerington residents are weighing in on the district?’s options to ease overcrowding at its schools.

Administrators and board members are studying their options in case a $37 million bond issue fails in November. They?’ve said the options include split sessions at the middle and junior-high schools.

''We have to be in a listening mode and at the same time take everything into consideration,'' said Superintendent Bob Thiede. ''We have some time now to listen to other people and their options.''

The bond issue, similar to one two-thirds of voters rejected in May, would pay for two elementaries, land and several building improvements. The plan, at 2.5 mills, would cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $76 a year.
''I don?’t think we?’ve landed on the perfect option,'' said board Vice President Lisa Reade. ''We need to consider any option.''
Pickerington City Councilman Brian Wisniewski added his thoughts to the discussion on a Web site for Pickerington community members.

His proposal calls for reconfiguring the district so that Pickerington North High School and Lakeview Junior High would turn into a high-school campus and Pickerington Central High School into a junior high.

''I don?’t think anybody wants to see split sessions,'' Wisniewski said. ''Maybe it is a short-term proposal and it has some holes in it, but it?’s something I wanted to throw out into the public and see what they think about it.

''I have to do all that I can to make sure the school system remains successful ?— even if this levy fails, which I don?’t see much hope of it passing.''

Board member Jim Brink doesn?’t think Wisniewski?’s plan will work because the proposal uses building capacity numbers instead of figures designed for programs.

''I can fit a thousand cars on a road at the same time . . . but that doesn?’t mean I can have that many cars on that road driving at any given time,'' he said.

School officials already have presented two split-session options to board members.

One proposal would revert Heritage Elementary, which currently houses students in kindergarten through sixth grade, to a K-4 building. Fifth- and sixth-graders from Heritage would join the middle schools, which would have split schedules.
The second option would use the middle schools for elementary-school students. The fifthand sixth-graders from there would join students in the junior highs, which would be under a split schedule.

If the bond issue fails, the district would implement split sessions in the 2007-08 school year.

Schools are already taking alternative approaches to finding room for students.

Teachers are using libraries, gyms and cafeterias for classroom space, they said. Art and music teachers travel from class to class with a cart of supplies. Physical-education lessons are held in classrooms when gyms are occupied.

Last year, more than 650 elementary students were housed in portable classrooms. Pickerington and Violet elementaries now have no more room for portable units on their property.

croduta@dispatch.com




By Coffee and Donut time

Soup and Sandwich time

Wow!!

We have a sitting council man recommending an alternative plan to the schools. The Schools and its board seem to be rejecting the plan off handedly.

Dr. Thiede talks about listening or being in a listening mode.

Board member Jim Brink doesn?’t think the plan will because?????????????

Board member Lisa Reade says they will consider ANY OPTION. After you pass the levy.

First the school board has offered three bond issues in the last year or so. NONE of them have addressed the taxpayer?’s concerns. LISA AND JIM PLEASE READ BRIAN?’S PLAN. It addresses every concern that my wife and I have heard and the same concerns we all have for our children. Maybe Brian?’s plan is flawed it still shows that this sitting councilman who has not seen all of the data and spoke to the experts the school board have sees the PROBLEM.

As the wheels come off of the school board?’s apple cart they are spending too much time listening and being lobbied by the Teacher?’s Union and their direction is not the same direction that the general public in Pickerington are looking for. For twenty years now PLSD has taught school in portable classrooms. At the same time and for probably the last 8 years the school system has scored nearly perfect grades with the state on their annual ratings by the ODE. In fact, I saw the Pickerington kids walking around a few years ago with tee shirts indicating they were perfect.

So Jim and Lisa: How do you explain how our kids are doing so well in these cramped quarters that you now claim are a determent to learning?

Jim I know the press caught you off guard by doing their job and asking questions. Just as clear is you have not thoroughly though through why you want to support the teachers and go with these two new elementary schools rather than a more economically plan.

Jim and Lisa: Why has the schools and you two refused to address the issues with the North Schools and the Central schools having the disparity they currently have?

Jim and Lisa: Why was the sport facility needed at the North High School complex in 2000 and now in 2005 there is no need for any kind of facilities at Central High School?

Jim and Lisa: Have either of you though about converting the North High School concession stand into three class rooms?

Lisa and Jim: have either of you considered addressing the taxpayers (LACK OF) trust issue within the school district that has its roots buried in the overspending and the lies that were told everyone about the NEED up there. Yet that need is now not required at Central.


Space and ?“required space?” are used as justifications by the school board on a regular basis. They say the ?“STATE REQUIREMENTS?” now require nearly twice the square footage in 2005 as they did the 1978. So your collective hands are tied by a state ?“MANDATE ON SPACE REQUERIMENTS?”.

Is this a big lie you folks on the board are perpetrating along with your co-conspirators in the school administration?







By PLSD says procreate

Meatloaf again!!

Why has the School Board stonewalled the citizens about the growth requirements for the Ohio School Funding Commission? Doesn?’t the OSFC require a certain level of growth to qualify for state funding?

ARE YOU FOLKS AT THE BOARD TRYING TO DECEIVE THE OSFC WITH THEIR GROWTH NUMBERS?

Jim your arguments fail the smell test.

I know you all have space issues with the K-4 grades yet none of you have ever considered what Mitch O?’Brien suggests. Using the vacant Big Bear Store as a ?“Kindergarten Village.?” I understand that there are nearly 700 Kindergarten students attending Pickerington Elementary schools. How many students did you say were in the portable classrooms? Can we divide the Big Bear store into 28 classrooms? Could that have been done this summer?

Jim exactly what kind of kindergarten programs require 120 square foot per student?

Then there is the ?“ECONOMIC LIFE?” thing the board and the schools use.

Let me give you all an example. Why did we tear down the bleachers at Central? I am told they had reached their economic life. I am also hearing many of our older schools are reaching the end of their economic life. I believe posted on this site you will see references to the visitor bleachers at Central will be at the end of their economic life in 10 years. Did the Central track need to be replaced? Was it worn out? Was it dangerous?

If that is the case why is Heritage still standing? If Heritage reached the end of its economical life in 1963 why are they wanting to put another $7 Million into a building that has reached its economic life expectancy?

Now let?’s look at the inflated growth figures the school is using.

Here again our state has shown some real genius in creating a commission to add millions upon millions to the bottom line of our educational funding in the state.

First to qualify for state funding you first MUST show Growth. That growth must substantial.

Clearly the district can show HISTORICAL growth.

One method they used was building permits.

City of Pickerington Violet Township
1998 = 92 1998 = 140
1999 = 168 1999 = 131
2000 = 163 2000 = 152
2001 = 261 2001 = 144
2002 = 345 2002 = 200
2003 = 760 2003 = 195
2004 = 189 2004 = 151

What was not included was the following so far this year

2005 = 121 2005 = 35

Live Births City of Pickerington (they don?’t break down Fairfield County with Violet)

1998 = 284
1999 = 275
2000 = 466
2001 = 345
2002 = 198


Now if you had a child born in 2002 and they attend kindergarten at age 5, I believe my math tells me we will have a supper small kindergarten class next year.

CAN ANYONE TELL ME WITH THE ABOVE FIGURES WHY WE HAVE A 700 MEMBER KINDERGARTEN CLASS IN 2004/2005? See birth rates in 2000. What is the trend? Do you need to charge the schools a ton of money to figure this one out.

IS TWO ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS NEEDED THIS YEAR OR EVEN IN 2007?

Would anyone in our school that pays taxes come to that same conclusions based on the same data the school board had?

To the reporters reading this. This information is contained in the 2004 DeJong report.


By Going to the bar to shoot pool

Midnight Snack

Now here we have a school board that hired a renowned consultant to provide the PLSD with Growth figures to justify their anticipated application to the OSFC for funding of the two new Elementary Schools that we will see on the ballot in November.

What is missing on this report from DeJong?

COLUMBUS City DATA as it relates to the Pickerington Local School District.

In the DeJong report they give live birth rates for the City of Pickerington and for Franklin and Fairfield Counties. So if we are looking for data to plan for future kindergarten class wouldn't live births in Violet Township and the Pickerington areas of Columbus be an important part of that study. A few years ago the paper published that 23% of the PLSD kids came form Columbus and 43% came from Violet Township. Yet they make no effort to find out how many live births occurred in 66% of the school district.

Then they look at the number of building permits issued in Pickerington and Violet Township and then the whole of Columbus. Here again 23% of the current students come from Columbus and wouldn't it be appropriate to have included the new developments in the City of Columbus that cover the PLSD. Do we really care what all of Columbus did with building permits? Despite the fact that they were down 33% in 2004.

Despite dramatic drops in both birth rates in 2002 and building permits currently dropping like a rock they are only predicting a small drop in the 2006-2007 kindergarten class.

At the same time they are looking a 6.1 % average increase per year in the High School Senior classes while only predicting an average rate of increase in the Kindergarten classes of 1 % per year for the next ten years. Older neighborhoods normally have less children per home.

I know Jim Brink is very good with logic, maybe it is time he sued some of his skills.

By Inspector Clueso/Clueless