Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

the central track s not 7/8 of a track, it is 7/7 of a track. things will NEVER be equal, no matter what!

heritage elimentary has a second floor and was almost totally redone inside whithin the last couple of years, does that mean that pick elementary should build a second floor? the central band director is nationally recognized, does that mean north should go out and find one of equal stature? tussing elementary has a walking trail, does that mean we should construct one at violet too?

the schools that were built were SUPPOSED to be built to be the best available at the time within the budget amount allotted. times change, finances change, building technology changes, nothing stands still. do i think that the north campus & facilities are over the top? YES. have i ever heard anywhere that they were signigficantly overbudget? NO. my point being that they were built as they were supposed to be, best available within the given budget. maybe NEXT TIME, we shold more closely examine the budget up front.

if you want your child to go to a school with a bigger track then either move (as we all know, there are plenty of new builds all around us), enroll him/her in that school and drive them there, or hold a fund raiser to solicit monies from like minded home owners to fund the expansion you all desire. (i have heard that the north football boosters are raisng money to fund the building of a true enclosed stadium because that is what they support - i don't support that thought so i'm not contributing). in the mean while, don't expect the whole community to throw good money after bad just because you want you child to run on a larger track.

things are not equal now and they never will be - that doesn't mean that they aren't good.

as mick jagger once sang, ''you can't always get what you want, but if you try some time, you just might find, you get what you need.''

Taxpayer

Dear Anon,

I believe you are missing the point of many of us in that 85% of the school operating budget is for STAFF.


Having TWO all weather tracks at one school is very OVER THE TOP.

Those TWO football fields must be mowed regularly to keep the grass from turning into weeds. That takes STAFF. It also take chemicals and equipment. As these structures weather they will need paint both internal and external. That takes STAFF and MATERIALS.

I have heard complaints about the lighting in the parking lots. Those lights on every where to show off the grandiose school building cost EVERY taxpayer in the district. How about the art work hanging everywhere in the new school?

The cost of all of these extras came from every tax payer in the school district. The cost to maintain these extras continues to come from EVERY tax payer in the district. How much are we diverting from the over all budget to supply happy land with lights when no one is there?

If the Pickerington Local School Board wants to never get another levy passed then go a head and make my day by allowing those idiots in the North District to raise money to place a dome over the track and football fields. This Dome will cost every one in the district. This is not about some petty jealously it is about a school district that is overloaded in students and instead of correcting the budget problems in the ENTIRE district we have allowed part the north march to a different drummer and do as they please at the expense of the rest of us.

I think maybe we should require an individual audit of the budgets of every building in the district versus the number of students they are educating.

Don't forget the transportation issues. The Central School site is getting to the point where it could have a large portion of its students walk. Was any thought given for the North Complex? One school site sits on a major road that has a speed limit of 45 MPH and no sidewalks and the other 20 MPH.

The real issue with our schools is the stupid decisions that have been made by our local school board over the years. That board was controlled by a zealous group that saw money as no object to the worship of their own children. I believe some wanted desperately to relive their lives through their children's.

As we are all aware there have been some major shifts in those severing on the school board in the City Council. The collective thinking and the direction of the PLSD will slowly change. They did make a wise decision in the recent bus contract in forcing the bus contractor to locate the buses within the district. This will save the taxpayers a ton in the $2 a gallon gas.

I think the Board should have considered rebuilding the Tiger stadium track and field at Central if room was available and if they had it in the budget. Most of us could care less about high school memories and championship track meets. I think we all want our children to be able to face life once they leave our schools. We also so want that at an afforable price.

By Still voting no

Price tag new vs. renovated

I've heard a new stadium at Central including a football field & track & field events was in the ballpark of $5M.

Renovations listed in the paper for the stadium project is under $1M.

You can't have it both ways - either be conservative and renovate or go all out and build a new stadium. I don't think there is $5M for athletic facilities anywhere I've seen.

By Taxpayer too

You can share and not spend

You can share the North facilites and not spend a dime. Clearly even both schools could hold a track meet there simultaneously.soccer and football too.

By taxoayer three