Casper Posted August 2, 2011 Report Share Posted August 2, 2011 http://www.10tv.com/live/content/local/stories/2011/08/02/story-pickerington-voters-to-decide-levy-proposal.html?sid=102 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natedogg624 Posted August 2, 2011 Report Share Posted August 2, 2011 i never understand why school levies are even an issue. i'd hate to see kids suffer because of adults bickering or squandering over a measly 168 per year. if they're really stretched for cash that they can't afford that, they need to reevaluate their budget IMOalways support the kids no matter what is my personal opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
copper1k Posted August 2, 2011 Report Share Posted August 2, 2011 I like the ultimatum informational sheet that came in the mail last week. "If you do not pass it" "we will have to take all of this away........" "If you pass it" "we are going to add all of this.....for your children" Wow! Everything or nothing are the only options you have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casper Posted August 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2011 I like the ultimatum informational sheet that came in the mail last week. "If you do not pass it" "we will have to take all of this away........" "If you pass it" "we are going to add all of this.....for your children" Wow! Everything or nothing are the only options you have.I wonder how much all of these fliers and signs cost... and why they didn't just donate that money to schools. And maybe instead of putting all this effort into passing the stupid levy, maybe they could've put together a huge fundraiser. Hmmmm....PS: I didn't read the flier. Just threw it away. I'm sick of the bullying tactics. There's a reason why the superintendent resigned in the middle of her contract, and I surely bet it wasn't family reasons like she tried to say... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmh_sprint Posted August 2, 2011 Report Share Posted August 2, 2011 Most school adminsitrations should be fired. They need to run the districts like a business rather than an entitlement with no oversight or accountabilty for making bad decisions. Schools do not need to look like Junior College campuses with elaborate interiors and amenities out the ass. School Adminstrators shouldn't be paid like they are the leaders of the free world with with perks to match(example: Marysville's superintendant is retired, hired back as a contractor and we (tax payers) are paying for his kids college education (as a perk in his contract). We also pay our crossing guards $21/hour, what a fucking joke. All these districts know who to do is wield the "if you don't pass this levy" sword and most people cower in fear. My kids are just starting out in school and I no problem paying a few hundred dollars so they can particpate in extra curricular activities, but quit you fucking complaining and do your job with some level of competency and common sense. Rant over....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Punk Posted August 2, 2011 Report Share Posted August 2, 2011 i never understand why school levies are even an issue. i'd hate to see kids suffer because of adults bickering or squandering over a measly 168 per year. if they're really stretched for cash that they can't afford that, they need to reevaluate their budget IMOalways support the kids no matter what is my personal opinion.If you feel that the schools aren't getting enough money you are free to donate more to them. I'm sure others share your same opinion and would be willing to donate more to the schools as well. Don't make it mandatory for others to do so because some bureaucrat can't balance a budget. Who is harming the kids more the people who pay the taxes and think what they are paying is enough to support the kids or the school system that abuses the money they get not applying it for the kids. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2talltim Posted August 3, 2011 Report Share Posted August 3, 2011 our schools do pay to play..one parent told me his daughter is in band, vollyball, cheer leading,softball, and basketball and next year he will dish out almost $900 in play fees..some parent cant afford that, so the child will not be able to participate..i dont mind paying my taxes to the school, someone paid taxes to put me through school so ill return the favor..i cant stand the people tht say "i dont have a kid in school why should i pay" but they do have older kids Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beegreenstrings Posted August 3, 2011 Report Share Posted August 3, 2011 They are for you... What is pick town asking for straight up 5 mils for operating...ouch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2talltim Posted August 3, 2011 Report Share Posted August 3, 2011 another expmple is my son had some reading problems last year...when we ask about some help they told us due to cut backs they no longer had a reading tutor or program, they refered us to a outside place. Yea, they charged $30 a hour Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Chief201 Posted August 3, 2011 Report Share Posted August 3, 2011 I understand why school levies fail... The actual percentage that makes it into the classroom is sad. Most districts in Ohio spend ~20% on administrators. Your looking at 1.4 million going into the pockets of Administrators not into the classroom. In my opinion they need to mandate 75%+ of the fund go to the classroom and not to fund administrations pockets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulcan_Rider Posted August 3, 2011 Report Share Posted August 3, 2011 (edited) New levies are bullshit if you operated on that budget for the past x amount of years you should still be able to operate on it for the next x amount of years. I have no problem with levy renewels but basically saying we ran out of money and need more is bullshit. I understand that certain upgrades need to be made every so often so pass a levy that accounts for setting aside money each year to build so that when the district needs 500 new computers there is already money there for it. Or at least have some transperancy (sp?) and tell the people exactly where every cent is going.Edit: I just realized my argument is completely wrong we need to pass new levies to pay teachers those mandatory union raises or they might strike. PASS THE LEVY!!!!! Edited August 3, 2011 by Vulcan_Rider Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyJ Posted August 3, 2011 Report Share Posted August 3, 2011 our schools do pay to play..one parent told me his daughter is in band, vollyball, cheer leading,softball, and basketball and next year he will dish out almost $900 in play fees..some parent cant afford that, so the child will not be able to participate..i dont mind paying my taxes to the school, someone paid taxes to put me through school so ill return the favor..i cant stand the people tht say "i dont have a kid in school why should i pay" but they do have older kidsI can vouch for that as well - we no longer have busing, they've cut staff on all levels and increased class size, etc. Pay to play at high school is now 600 a sport (!!!) with no scholarships. Net result is that people are going to be less willing to move to or stay in ciites like mine - I know of a handful who decided to look elsewhere because the schools are starting to go downhill.Watching the news last night, though, looked like some of the levies passed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-bus Posted August 3, 2011 Report Share Posted August 3, 2011 (edited) I've brought several higher-level employees to central Ohio. When discussing re-location, "do they pass their levies?" inevitably comes up. Don't underestimate the long-term impact to a community. I'm curious about Pickerington's housing market since they've been voting them down. Three communities that stand out to me as having healthy housing, good schools, and a history of passing levies are Grandview, Grandville, and Bexley. I believe there is a correlation. That being "said", districts must practice fiscal responsibility/restraint or their gravy train will eventually dry up.Edit: Pickerington's levy passed. Edited August 3, 2011 by C-bus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBBaron Posted August 3, 2011 Report Share Posted August 3, 2011 New levies are bullshit if you operated on that budget for the past x amount of years you should still be able to operate on it for the next x amount of years. I have no problem with levy renewels but basically saying we ran out of money and need more is bullshit. I understand that certain upgrades need to be made every so often so pass a levy that accounts for setting aside money each year to build so that when the district needs 500 new computers there is already money there for it. Or at least have some transperancy (sp?) and tell the people exactly where every cent is going.Edit: I just realized my argument is completely wrong we need to pass new levies to pay teachers those mandatory union raises or they might strike. PASS THE LEVY!!!!!The problem is that doesn't account for inflation. Teacher salary increases is one expense, also heating, electricity, supplies, maintenance, repairs. How would you feel if your boss said the same to you.Unfortunatey it's easier to get a levy passed for building a new school than it is to pass one for operating, so you see school districts struggling to make the budget. But that doesn't mean you should blindly pass every levy presented. As pointed out often there is plenty of waste that could be reduced, but it sounds like pickerington has cut quite a bit already.Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod38um Posted August 3, 2011 Report Share Posted August 3, 2011 (edited) Schools are not funded on a set dollar amount. Its a percentage so as your property values increase, so does their total revenue. Each time a new house is built or property divided, their revenue increases. The fact that they need to ask for a percentage increase is a sure sign of mismanagement of your funds.By the same token, if the area is depressed enough to actually lower property values, then the schools will receive less revenue and they should make the cuts to match the economics of the area.Which reminds me..... with the housing bubble busted and property values declining, dont for get to ask that your home be re-evaluated. You may save several thousand in taxes with a simple re-evaluation. Most area's only allow you to request one on a certain month of the year. Edited August 3, 2011 by Rod38um Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scruit Posted August 3, 2011 Report Share Posted August 3, 2011 I understand why school levies fail... The actual percentage that makes it into the classroom is sad. Most districts in Ohio spend ~20% on administrators. Your looking at 1.4 million going into the pockets of Administrators not into the classroom. In my opinion they need to mandate 75%+ of the fund go to the classroom and not to fund administrations pockets.You realize that 75%-to-the-classrooms is actually less money to classrooms that "20%-to-administrators" (leaving 80% to classrooms), right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scruit Posted August 3, 2011 Report Share Posted August 3, 2011 By the same token, if the area is depressed enough to actually lower property values, then the schools will receive less revenue and they should make the cuts to match the economics of the area. Everyone's house prices have dropped. But there's still as many houses. Less funding, just as many kids... See where I'm going?I don't blindly pass (or reject) levies - I look at why they are saying justifyies it, listen to both sides and make my decision based upon that.Of course the school district will say; "If you don't pass the levy then we will have to cut transportation (e.g)" Because if they HAVE to cut transportation and the DO cut transportation then people whill scream that they weren't warned about the effect of not passing the levy.In our school district we actually lost a ton of state funding because the state decided we are an "affluent" district. The state knows that they will request, and get, a levy. So is that the fault of the school district? The state? If the sttae has to raise taxes (or cut other programs) to be able to keep funding our "affluent" district then the effect is much the same as a local levy. Either I pay for the school through money going up to the state and back down to the school district - or I pay a local levy. I'm goinna pay the money either way.As far as running the school leaner... Anyone who's been in business knows that wehn you star laying people off "Trimming the fat" then it's not long before you start cutting into muscle, and bone. The people in charge of the money prefer to see layoffs because it makes the bottom line look better. But those people need to have a better idea of what impact that had to the school itself. Do you think everyone with a NO sign in their yard has looked at the books for the school and figured out that there is still fat to trim? Do you think everyone with a YES sign has confirmed that there is no fat left to trim? If oyu said yes then you are deliding yourself. Most people (based upon the people I have talked to) vote largely based upon if they have kids or not. Do parents ever vote down levies?Keep an open mind, every levy is different - investigate and determine for yourself - don't just count levy signs on your way to the polling place. There's plenty of people who would rather see parents pay $600 activity fees and $904 transportation fees annually than themselves pay $168. And there's just as many parents who would vote up a levy to pay for Rolls Royce company cars for the teachers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max power Posted August 3, 2011 Report Share Posted August 3, 2011 Most school adminsitrations should be fired. They need to run the districts like a business rather than an entitlement with no oversight or accountabilty for making bad decisions. Schools do not need to look like Junior College campuses with elaborate interiors and amenities out the ass. School Adminstrators shouldn't be paid like they are the leaders of the free world with with perks to match(example: Marysville's superintendant is retired, hired back as a contractor and we (tax payers) are paying for his kids college education (as a perk in his contract). We also pay our crossing guards $21/hour, what a fucking joke. All these districts know who to do is wield the "if you don't pass this levy" sword and most people cower in fear. My kids are just starting out in school and I no problem paying a few hundred dollars so they can particpate in extra curricular activities, but quit you fucking complaining and do your job with some level of competency and common sense. Rant over.......Agreed. And yes, I have a kid in school. Our town has brand new schools and a perfectly good building (that received millions of upgrades just a few years ago) sitting vacant because it wasn't up to their standards and they constantly cry that they don't have operating monies. Don't care. Learn how to operate on a budget like the rest of us have.Its NOT about the childrens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Punk Posted August 3, 2011 Report Share Posted August 3, 2011 (edited) Schools are not funded on a set dollar amount. Its a percentage so as your property values increase, so does their total revenue. Each time a new house is built or property divided, their revenue increases. The fact that they need to ask for a percentage increase is a sure sign of mismanagement of your funds.By the same token, if the area is depressed enough to actually lower property values, then the schools will receive less revenue and they should make the cuts to match the economics of the area.Which reminds me..... with the housing bubble busted and property values declining, dont for get to ask that your home be re-evaluated. You may save several thousand in taxes with a simple re-evaluation. Most area's only allow you to request one on a certain month of the year.Actually you couldn't be more wrong about how schools are funded. They are funded several ways but to address your local millage percentage statement this is how it works.A community passes a levy for 10 million so the total value of the properties in the community are added up and divided by what is needed to produce that amount of money. New houses in your community actually reduce everyone else’s burden to produce the 10 million because that is all the levy is allowed to produce. This is also not going to change when the value of the property in the community changes. Let's say for example the whole community’s property takes a 20% hit in value, the amount of property taxes dedicated for school millage remains the same for everyone because they still need to produce the 10 million. If you as an individual get your value reduced but your neighbors don't you might save some money but someone else in your community will be making up the difference because the levy needs to produce the 10 million but it can only produce 10 million.This hurts communities with a large growth in housing that burdens the school with more kids but doesn’t get additional operating levies passed. There are other revenue streams coming from the state that return money based on the number of attending students but it doesn’t fully fund what is needed for the school system.All this being said most school levies don’t need to be passed and scare tactics are used. We have a local school system that hasn’t passed a levy in close to 30 years and I doubt they will pass one ever. They have new schools and it is considered one of the better school districts. They force levies on the community by using state law that doesn’t allow them to go below a minimum of monies to operate. It pisses the people off who don’t vote for a levy but get one assessed to them anyway so they don’t pass new ones. The school system has learned to get by with the minimum state level of funding; they built three new schools a few years ago and are currently building a new one.Edit to add this link: http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2010/02/06/though-property-values-down-county-taxes-can-still-rise/I didn't need to type any of my reply. Edited August 3, 2011 by Uncle Punk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmh_sprint Posted August 3, 2011 Report Share Posted August 3, 2011 Agreed. And yes, I have a kid in school. Our town has brand new schools and a perfectly good building (that received millions of upgrades just a few years ago) sitting vacant because it wasn't up to their standards and they constantly cry that they don't have operating monies. Don't care. Learn how to operate on a budget like the rest of us have.Its NOT about the childrens.I didn't know you lived in Marysville. JK. We have the exact same scenario. They built a brand new school south of Marysville to replace an older building in town. They never actually closed the old building, still use it for some orientation and testing. Now they are crying the blues because their transportation costs have sky rocketed because the new school is farther away plus the fact that they are paying operating costs for 2 buildings instead of one. IMO, a district should not build new buildings unless they need it for capacity reasons or their is an environmental issue that can impacts the kids health (example: Marion, OH elementary school built on a toxic dump and numerous kids got cancer). The argument that these districts need to "keep up with the Jones" is complete bullshit and one of the fundamental issues that is fucking up this country. But so is the fact that schools don't teach they just prep you to take a stupid fucking test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyJ Posted August 3, 2011 Report Share Posted August 3, 2011 Lots of interesting stuff here!We started talking about this at work abit- wasn't there some kind of across-the-board drop in state $$ for schools last year that's helping to fuel this along with decreasing tax revenues for the cities themselves? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod38um Posted August 3, 2011 Report Share Posted August 3, 2011 Actually you couldn't be more wrong about how schools are funded. Its my understanding that we have a minimum property tax linked to school funding that works as I described. Things like: Emergency, incremental and replacement levees as well as bond issues are sources for additional revenue for schools and do work as you say....... However, I could be wrong.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad324 Posted August 3, 2011 Report Share Posted August 3, 2011 only 1 school levy in the greater Cleveland area passed yesterday...of course its the district I currently live in and graduated from Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Chief201 Posted August 5, 2011 Report Share Posted August 5, 2011 You realize that 75%-to-the-classrooms is actually less money to classrooms that "20%-to-administrators" (leaving 80% to classrooms), right?I purposely left out the 5% to cover other fees such as utilities, maintenance, inflation etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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