Do you have something to say? Write a letter to the editor! E-mail yours to westside@columbusmessenger.com. Letters must include a full name, address and telephone number. Only the name and city of residence will be printed.

 

District can’t cut its way out of financial mess

Regarding the recent recommendations by a citizen, who is also an accountant, to the SWCS board of education, I find it amusing that someone who spent a week reviewing portions of the district’s finances thinks she has found the solution to our district’s financial situation. I believe it is pretty arrogant to assume just because you are a CPA, you know best about school district finances. Maybe she can tell us how to get the state to fix school funding, too.   

I think she went in with an agenda and not as an independent, unbiased citizen concerned about the children or our community. Does she really care about the quality of education for students?  

Even if what the accountant proposed was not part of an existing, negotiated contract and could be altered without following the collective bargaining process mandated by the state of Ohio, where would the next $8 million come from that will have to be cut the following year? We can’t just cut our way out of this. It’s time to pass a levy, too.  

Sam Clark

Grove City 
 
 

Get off the fence!

I am surprised at how many people are undecided about how they plan to vote for Issue 47. There are a lot of fence sitters out there.  

Strong schools contribute to the economic stability of a community. We cannot afford to side against our schools and the future of our children.  

It is my understanding that the state has been reducing their portion of our school funding by at least 20 percent since the 1970s. Do we really expect the State to give us more money if we wait around long enough for it? All the while our community falls apart.   

This district has passed only one operating levy since 1994. And the circumstances in our schools were a lot less dire then.  Now we need to restore busing and after school activities and just plain save the basic education of our kids.   

Don’t be afraid to get off the fence and vote yes on Issue 47!

Suzie Rios

Lincoln Village 
 
 

Some solutions for SWCS

I also am sick at heart for our community (reference to Jane Barnhart’s letter in the Sept. 7 edition of the Westside Messenger), but I feel this way because of how our local schools are managed. 

Many have criticized the “no” voters for not offering solutions. Opposition leader Terry Jones takes the heat, but many others have discussed alternatives to over-taxing people. 

First, let’s pray for the benefit of our local community, schools and leaders. We all want to live in a “nice place” where respect for all is evident. Volunteer. Get involved. 

We need change on the school board that will not be swayed by lobbyists or greed, and be willing to force sound business practices on administrators. 

A smaller levy is more likely to pass and could raise enough to restore student activities, allowing the community to begin to heal. Keep the two-mile walk rule for students, but provide bussing for high school students if over two miles. Walking is healthy if safety is supported. 

Lean education is a concept that if it is not in the classroom, it should be evaluated for waste. Again, the focus should be in the classroom. Support for teachers must be a priority. 

All departments must perform within budgets and seek solutions to cut costs. 

Finally, each of us must exercise our right to vote as we choose without having to defend it, again. God bless America!  

Jeffrey Ray

Columbus  
 
 

Kudos to the students

Recently, I had to drop my daughter off at a band competition in Hilliard that Central Crossing has won for the past four years. On the way into the parking lot, we saw a band dressed in similar uniforms to our own, warming up for competition. My daughter and I started to cry. We understood the injustice our students were facing. They weren’t resigning their crown because they were inferior; they were losing because they couldn’t compete. They were not afforded the same opportunity as the other students because they lived in the wrong zip code.   

People in our district do not support our students. Before you judge, I bought my my house in Grove City in 2004 and my property taxes have been raised by over a thousand dollars since I have lived here. I just understand I am part of the bigger picture and kids need my support.   

Some want to call our children over privileged and spoiled, but what they fail to understand is just how awesome our kids are. They have not laid down and wallowed in defeat. They have adjusted and figured out how to muddle through. I cannot express how proud I am of our children.  

We should all be proud of the job we have done as parents. Our children are beautiful, strong and resilient. To the supportive parents of SWCS - kudos. 

Linda Rowell

Grove City 
 
 

The guilt trip will not work

The American education system is declining partly because of students spending too much time on their extracurriculars. You go to school for your education not for fun and extracurriculars. 

Once the levy went on the ballot multiple times students were saying, “What are we going to do in our free time?”  

They went to other high schools football games. That guilt trip has not worked and will not work. According to the NCAA, only 2 percent of high school athletes receive a full or partial scholarship. An analysis of athletic scholarships in 2008 found that more than one million boys played football in high school, but only 28,299 received a scholarship in Division I or II. The average amount awarded for all sports was $10,400.  

If you believe the district is wanting to help these students succeed, then you are mistaken.  

Lindsay Shepherd

Grove City 
 
 

Clearing the air for bus drivers

I am a bus driver for South-Western City Schools. I would like to clear up some misinformation being spread across the district concerning bus drivers.  

Bus drivers work long days, with some drivers beginning their day well before 6 a.m. After the morning routes, some of us go to another job until it’s time to start our afternoon runs taking students home from school. At the end of the day, some of us go to yet another job. Just like you, we have families and home responsibilities. None of this matters because we love our jobs as bus drivers.  

Some are misinformed about how drivers are paid, so I thought I would explain. We work nine months a year. We get paid nine months a year. Most of us drive a bus six hours a day, which explains why some of us work multiple jobs. We are just like everyone else in the community, doing the best we can to support our families. People seem to think we are getting rich at the cost of the taxpayers. This is simply not true. 

Whatever you decide to do on Nov. 3, I hope you look at the issues with your eyes wide open and not through anger or bitterness.  

Adell West

Columbus 
 
 

How did this happen? 

I have lived in the Prairie Township area for quite some time, and I have noticed the increase in drugs,violence and grafitti. How is it that this is happening in a neighborhood that once had a great reputation for being a safe neighborhood? This area is increasingly getting worse. When is something going to be done about it?  

Anita Nail

Columbus