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Letters to the editor
Something on your mind? Tell us about it! Write a letter to the editor! Submit yours to westside@columbusmessenger.com.
Does that seem fair to you?
We’ve already tried to make it happen for SWCS how many times?
Have the residents of SWCS forgotten that in 2005 a levy was passed that was supposed to take care of the financial difficulty SWCS had? Then less than one year later SWCS tried to sneak another levy through but it didn’t pass.
Yes, children deserve an education, but the people who have been paying for 45 years and more plus the people just trying to live deserve a chance too. How is it we can’t ask for a levy to help us out? After all, we are experiencing financial difficulities, too. We have to just make due, but SWCS wants to take more.
The idea of people not wanting their children to attend schools in portable buildings really perturbes me. It’s good enough for people to use as their permanent housing. It’s time the school system take responsibility to show they know how to manage funds. I’m not convinced by the way they manage money they deserve anymore. Why don’t we have the right to live too? Why do we have to budget or go without and the school systems don’t? Does that seem fair to you?
Karen Thompson
Grove City
Voters should be pound-wise
I encourage South-Western City School voters to be pound wise and not penny foolish.
This old axiom speaks to some people’s desire to save money by spending none. Often, it means that down the road, more must be spent to deal with what wasn’t spent in the past.
Currently we have an opportunity to get $206 million from the state in order to replace, renovate, or rebuild our aging elementary schools, middle schools and high schools. This will save us money in the long run through maintenance and energy savings in the new buildings.
This is a chance we cannot afford to pass up. If we do not take the opportunity, the buildings will still need to be replaced in the future, but all the money will come from voters. In the meantime, we will continue to spend millions in wasted energy and maintenance costs, while construction costs continue to inflate. The time to do this is now.
As a voter, I am very happy that the presentation by the architect which convinced me this is a chance of a lifetime is now available online for voters who want to better understand the return on their investment if we pass Issue 81. The Web site is swcs.us/issue.
Get the information and vote “yes” on Issue 81.
Rick Redfern
Grove City
Senior citizens, stand up for our rights
I am asking for all senior citizens to stand up for our rights. We are being taxed out of our homes.
The tax I am talking about is property tax. This tax is unlawful. The Ohio Supreme Court said the way schools are funded in Ohio is unconstitutional. We seniors are being taxed with no representation. I believe that is against our rights.
If nothing else, when we turn 65, we should be exempt from further taxes on our property, that comes from passed school levies. This would mean that we do not have to be taxed, for levies that do not give us representation, since we do not have children in school.
The years that we had our children in school, we would expect to pay, however at age 65, and living on fixed incomes, we should not be asked to pay higher property taxes for the schools.
If the parents of children in the district want to vote in favor of the levy and have higher taxes, that is their right. What right does the parent have to ask the senior citizens of the community to go without medicine or food to pay for education.
Mary North
Grove City
Why is the Westside always left behind?
Who’s in charge around here? Why is it the Westside is always left behind when it comes to keeping our commuity clean and safe?
I notice old Super Duper building on Briggs Road still standing after many years of appeals - that just gives the higher ups more time to sit around as it detoriates even more. And what about businesses along Brigss Road, Harrisburg Pike and Demorest and Clime roads just letting trash build up on properties?
It’s even happening on school property. I was out cleaning around Briggs High School just last week, and I don’t even have children going there. There is graffatti on the new Imagine School on the corner of Demorest and Sullivant right where the children play. I am a former school employee, so I know they pay someone to keep that cleaned up, but it’s not being done.
It’s sad when you are ashamed to tell people you live on the Westside. And what about the fallen trees from Ike at West Gate Park? The community there has worked so hard to make it nice, but they are still just laying in the park.
If everyone would do just a little, what a big difference it would make.
Deborah Ennis
Columbus
Join me in voting for Issue 81
Some people have said that we keep giving away money to our schools and they never get better. With previous failed levies and the resulting massive cuts, SWCS has not only managed to maintain a Continuous Improvement rating, but also has continued to make gains. SWCS now graduates 90% of its students and 60% of our schools are now rated Excellent or Effective. South-Western also scored 90.1 on its performance index, which has increased over the last six years by eighteen points.
As an educator, I want to see Issue 81 pass to provide equitable facilities and opportunities for all students in the district and to allow our district to make even greater strides. But as the safety project director for South-Western City Schools, to be able to improve the safety and security for all of our students, staff members, and visitors, Issue 81 is too important an opportunity to let fail. If Issue 81 passes, the youngest of my three children will have graduated from SWCS and will not be around to benefit from any of the improvements. But I cannot pass on this “Chance of a Lifetime” because of what it will do for our community, with nearly $206 billion coming from the state of Ohio’s tobacco settlement. Over $400 million will be infused into our local economy. Job opportunities will be created and area business will likely see in increase in customers and sales.
Please join me in voting for Issue 81. It’s an opportunity we cannot afford to pass up!
Gary L. Sigrist, Jr.
Grove City
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