Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

Create a community

Mr. Rigelman

My comments were pointed at considering the proposal that No Vote had made. His proposal was to reduce the money requested by half and to include a football/track stadium. Like broke mentioned we can?’t afford more taxes.

If you could only build one elementary school and include a modest stadium and the milage was only around 1.25 or 1.5 then I would be very likely to vote for it.

The reason I would support it is because the school was addressing many of the problems they currently refuse to address.

What I think the voters are looking for is a community of cooperation not of confrontation. I read on another posting here that the board at the time in 2000 wanted to used the interest income to made to the stadiums equal. I can?’t verify but that is the behind the scenes actions that create mistrust. It also suggests leaving the crumbs for Central.

On the swimming pool, I see where the city is looking at a municipal swimming pool. Clearly this is probably where the pool should be and it will get more use by all of the city residents than one or the either high schools. The Central Field house was a disaster in trying to make it a community field house. Of course this will probably be looked upon with distaste by those in the North District to travel to the slums to use the pool.

I fully understand the value of a good academic education. Those activities that would use a football stadium and track seem to give parents (who are voters) some pride in seeing their kid perform.

The focus on my message was to create a community. The school board over the years has been responsible for dividing the community. In a community very near to Pickerington their athletic boosters actually funded and built a very nice football stadium complete with an EIGHT lane track.

Where did they get the funding?

They had concrete donated.

They had a local contractor donate bull dozer time to grade and install drainage. The boosters themselves donated labor to help install drainage tile.
You know it doesn?’t take much know how to build and set forms for concrete.

I saw President Bush the other day using a hammer to build homes for New Orleans.

Do any of you think there might be an electrian that has a son or a grandson on the football team? Would they be willing to help with laying the underground wiring to provide the lights and other electricity needed for this project? I see these electrical contractor trucks in driveways all over the district.

What I am suggesting is make a deal with those Band, Football and Track parents that the board will ask for money to build a stadium if they can provide VOLUNTEER labor to help defer the costs. Please don?’t restrict it to just those parents ask everyone. Ask those making all of their money from the school district to donate materials and labor. After all it is in their best interests that the school stays strong.


Further don?’t take my word for get off of our collective butts and get out and listen to people willing to tell you their feelings. Sitting in front of our computers updating spread sheets is not getting it done.

WE NEED TO GET R DONE.

Or JUST DO IT!















By Father of Many

It's in the past, but...

Mr Rigelman, in reading your post about your ideas on sharing, I am thinking about the current state of the Central football field, especially after the rainy football nights we have had.

Under your proposal, you would have had 2 varsity football programs, 4 varsity soccer progarms, as well as a number of jv and junior high school football programs all on the same field. In addition, we have Harvest Prep being scheduled for football games on the same field.

That leads to a horrible playing condition for all teams, and a very real increased risk of injury. Were you in favor, at that time, of building a separate soccer facility for the schools to share? That would have eased the burden on the lone field all the schools would have been forced to share. Would you have publicly backed such a proposal?

By Just Curious

Not Really

In answer to your question--not really. It's clear to me after living here 10 years there is a significant split in the way people think in this community. That assumes, of course, that most of the people do think. Evidence is slim on the matter.

Anyway, historically the northern precincts of the district including Columbus support new schools while the precincts in and around old Pickerington don't. You can find these voting patterns in the county records if you're interested. It seems like the newer neighborhoods support levies specifically because many of us moved here for the schools and want to preserve them. We like competing head-to-head with richer districts and beating them!

The older parts don't seem to care or else many of the families no longer have kids in school. And some are just anti progress, anti growth, anti anything new. Well, wake up. You lost that fight some time ago. The Village of Pickerington is gone and will not come back. We can make the atmosphere as as old timey as we like, but it will be as phony as any preserved New England ''village''.

No the best thing to do is go our separate ways. If horse-and-buggy Pickerington wants a Groveport-Madison type non-functioning school system with no opportunity in a very competitive world then so be it. The rest of us look forward to a better world and a better life for our kids. It's time to separate. We're too different.

By Any Mouse

Still More Questions

Thanks Father and Mouse for continuing the dialogue. And thanks, too, Curious, for your questions about the history of all this.

Although my purpose is to continue the dialogue but posing a few more questions, a bit of history might be useful. As school board members, our original intent was to create a second high school equivalent in its facilities to our first one. We wanted, above all, to avoid creating any split in this community. We were especially sensitive to that issue.

However, the then-school board majority allowed the administration and teachers, aided and abetted by certain over-zealous parents and by the architects and construction manager (who, because they were paid a percentage of the final project cost, had strong incentives to inflate that cost) to overshoot the mark.

To me, the concession stand at the PHS North stadium epitomizes the unfortunate result. That facility, in my opinion, would be more appropriate for the Polaris Amphitheatre than for a high school football stadium. It was, quite simply, a waste of money.

That is where we are, and that is how we got there. Here's what's been done about it so far: The new school board majority that took office with Mr. Monhollen, First, replaced the PLSD's Treasurer and Superintendent; Second, put a stop to architect/administration proposals for further enhancements (including a $5 million brick maintenance shed); Third, required school board approval for all change orders; and Fourth, sheltered the interest earnings on construction funds, so that they could be used for other purposes.

Since the last election, the school board has also cut its ties with Fanning & Howey and Turner Construction Company, and has substantially renovated the PHS Central football stadium. This has included the construction of new home stands, and the installation of new lights.

[to be continued]