By Amanda Ensinger
Staff Writer
Franklin Township leaders want to give local students real-life work experience before graduating.
At a recent board meeting, trustee John Fleshman gave an update on a new logo they are hoping students at Franklin Heights will design.
“After presenting this to the district, they wanted to get their trade school involved, but we told them this project must stay within the township,” Fleshman said. “We want students from Franklin Heights to work on this since those students live in the township.”
The project would include a new tagline for the township, as well as a new logo. Currently, the tagline the township would like students to use is “Franklin Township, past, present and future,” and students would come up with several logos for the township to chose from.
“After working with the school, it seems like the best group to work on this is the digital images class and they are very interested,” Fleshman said. “However, instead of doing a contest, I would like the township to make a donation of $250 to the entire class.”
According to Fleshman, many teachers pay for their own supplies and these funds would help the class pay for ink and paper for the work they do. The funds also would stay within that class and the students who work on this logo would directly benefit from the donation.
The township also would like to present the students who work on the logo with a plaque and do a presentation in front of the school.
“These students are the future and I want them to look back in 20 years and be proud of a logo they created,” Fleshman said.
However, not all the trustees were on board with this. Trustee Ralph Horn expressed concerns about spending additional money on this.
“I agree they deserve recognition, but I’m not sure $250 is the appropriate amount,” Horn said. “If you look at the property tax residents are paying, we are already contributing to the school. Why should we have to pay more?”
Horn said he would be more comfortable giving the class $50-$150, instead of $250.
“The general fund is really tight right now and we are spending $700 here and $600 there and it adds up,” Horn said. “We have other things we need to fix in this township, like potholes, and we need to watch our spending.”
Not all residents agreed with Horn’s comment and said they would like to see their tax money used toward projects like this.
“I don’t think $250 is a lot and this is the future of our community,” said Mike Blevins, township resident. “If you donate $250, I will match your donation or buy the plaque.”
The board then unanimously agreed to proceed with the donation and plague.
“We would like to have three or four logos presented to us,” Fleshman said. “I’m really excited about this and want to see that plaque hung in the school.”
