Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

A great article in the Dispatch on the long range plan by the Olentangy school board. Property has been purchased for two additional high schools, etc. Sounds like foresight, thinking things through and educating the voters. And saving money on the land.

I can't say I've see a similar plan from the PLSD. They claim to be planning long term but if it exists in the detail that Olentangy has done they haven't publicized it. (If it exists why not post it on the PLSD website?) It's the use of a long range plan that prevents the fiasco of the current bond levy to expand current schools. Voters understand the growth issue much better if some roadmap is being followed. That doesn't mean Olentangy passes a levy any easier or faster but at least the voter knows the plan up front. Our crew worries more about parity than planning.

Board or the Union?

It seems to me if we want a long term plan we need to come to terms with what we want as a District.

The Board has been hounded about the two schools on Refugee Road - too fancy, too fancy, too fancy. Now they have a plan that looks to be conservative on the spending side & the union doesn't like it. Did the Union like the plan for North and Lakeview? Seems to me they had a big part in what those schools became.

So far I have heard the Union isn't happy with the Board. Could it be that reality hit the union a little late? For the last three years they have had a sweetheart deal while the rest of us have lived with increased health insurance, small or no raises as our employers struggled to keep afloat. Now it seems a little dose of reality has hit our Union and they don't like it. Not one bit. And again the Board are the bad guys because they decreased raises and raised insurance. Welcome to the real world.

If this isn't what we wanted? What is?

By watcher

Two issues in my mind

Planning for the long term growth of physical facilities and the compensation of the union are two independent issues in my opinion. The board has minimal influence on the rate that students come into this district. Pickerington is a bedroom community that will continue to grow. That's a fact. At what rate and where is the difficult analysis.

Compensation is entirely in the board's control. They have in the past given raises far in excess of inflation and passed thru virtually none of the benefit cost increases. The status quo must change here and the union has to enter the real world and accept that they must pay expenses that almost every private sector employee pays for. The board's DUTY is to represent the taxpayers FIRST, the students second and the union members last.