Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

City Schools

TP

The City school district and the merger would be totally separate issues. Even if they both happened the schools and the city would remain seperated like Columbus is today.

Sorry to confuse you

I know the schools and the city would remain separate entities were a city/twp merger to occur. Someone had posited making the PLSD a ''true'' city school district. I was trying to figure out via my questions how a ''local school district'' became a ''city school district'', that is, do we have to have all territory within the district be within the boundaries one city in order to make this change? If not, how does this change occur, and what difference would it really make if such a change were to occur?

A short time ago I went online to look up the definitions of ''city school district'' and ''local school district'' in the Ohio Revised Code. Because I am not a lawyer, it made absolutely no sense to me. If someone smarter than me can translate it for me into the vernacular, I would greatly appreciate it.

City School District

Actually, the PLSD has the ability to become the PCSD right now. The boundaries of the school district would not change. Our friends and neighbors in Park Place would not be lopped off. But the school district could operate independently of the county board of education, and payments to the county boe would no longer be deducted, as they are now, from our state general assistance payments. As things stand now, the PLSD needs county approval to hire a new superintendent, or to change our schools' curricula. Certain administrators have used this fact to cut our local school board out of curriculum decisions. I'm not sure whether the school district would come out ahead financially from such a conversion. But it's worth asking the question.

Questions for Mac and Me

Please do not confuse mergers with annexations. In a merger, the city and the township would combine under an entirely new charter, the city would not simply absorb the township. We would all be involved in drafting this charter, and the new city might, or might not, have an income tax. That would be up to us, since we would all have to vote to approve it.

Thus a merger would not amount to conciliating the annexers. I do not know what effect, if any, a merger would have on the disastrous pre-annexation agreements. Wouldn't it be great, though, if they were nullified due to the fact that there was no township left to annex these properties from.

If we are going to seriously consider a merger, our leaders will need to form a citizens' commission to investigate these and other issues, to tote up all the pros and cons, and to make recommendations to us. I strongly urge the formation of such a commission.