Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

give me a break!

As a former Varsity runner on the Pickerington High School Central cross country and track team, I would like to extend my concerns to Mr. Rigelman and voters in Pickerington.

-PHSN has two regulation tracks on their campus while PHSC has 0. However, I suppose we?’re lucky to have a ?“track?” down at the Jr. High School.

-The problem with this so-called track at the Jr. High School, is that for any meet to be held on this track, which no longer meets the OHSAA requirements, will be impossible. Yes, I said impossible.

-First, what is the problem? In order to meet the OHSAA requirements, the track must be 8 lanes and each lane must be 42?” wide. Pickerington Jr. High/High school has one track which consists of 7 lanes.

-Those who do not follow this ancient sport, may be asking ?“OK, but why impossible??”

-North has now successfully stolen all of the invitationals Central has run for years. No big deal?…right? Wrong. Those invitationals were a source of income for the track team for such necessities, like to help pay for uniforms or warm-ups that are borrowed season after season by the boys and girls, alike. I know all 4 years I ran high school track, I didn?’t even want to borrow the uniforms because they looked like they had been worn and sweat in by so many other people years and years prior.

-Having big events is crucial for track programs-especially that of Central's team, which is one of the smallest and most struggling D1 programs in the state, all thanks to the split. It was the once great meets such as the STINGEL and PICKERINGTON invitationals, to name a few, that drew attention and top track teams from all over the state. With 7 lanes, central will be LUCKY to pull of some slow-moving dual meets.

-It was bad enough that my senior of Track I was unable to run any races on the track I had called home for 5 years?…and should have been 6.

-Now, I?’m not asking for equal?…because shoot, Central will never been as glamorous as North.

-I am a student at The Ohio State University, and as an undergraduate student majoring in Biology, I have yet to seen a building as fancy as those on PHSN?’s campus and I promise this is not an exaggeration. The Biology lab I was in Spring Quarter didn?’t even have air conditioning, much less, chandeliers hanging in the hallways.

-You know, I have given up on EQUAL?…it?’s just not a reality. All I?’m wanting is THE BARE MINIMUM.

-If the board really wanted to make a rational decision, they wouldn?’t have built a track at Pickerington Jr. High Central, at all. The 7/8 of a track they have built is basically a complete waste and the only use the Central ?“district?” of the Jr. High AND High School will get out of it, is for training.

I addressed my concern to not only the author of the original post, but also to the voters in Pickerington. I know many of you worked hard to elect who you thought would be able to make the PLSD great. However, all great history books have said that when there is a problem with your government, you must take action to change it. And I believe, we, as voters, will not be afraid to take action again. And as we all know, the track at Central is just one issue. Shoot, they are already talking about building ANOTHER high school and jr. high. To top it off, the expected date to start building/taxing will not even make PHSN 6 years old.

They kept saying that the reason we couldn?’t expand or build onto PHSC was because the portable classrooms would be too expensive to move. Well guess what! They?’re gone?…we need to add on and stop fueling the fire by letting the school board create an empire. We haven?’t even finish paying for the ?“old?” high school!

Welcome to the real world

Don't confuse OHSAA requirements for tournament meets with everyday life. Under your specifications most tracks in the state don't qualify for meets yet the schools seem to have them. (I ran track on a cinder track, The track at Central is fantastic compared to our surface.)

The Stingel meet is associated with Pickerington, not Central or North. From that perspective the facilities at North are better so use them rather than Central.

As to the facilities at OSU -- maybe they should have spent the hundred fifty plus million used on the student rec center for academic stuff?

Lastly, when YOU have the pleasure of writing higher and higher property tax checks each year you'll have a much better appreciation of the school's spending problems.

By When you get to pay taxes

Voters: TAKE YOUR BLINDERS OFF!

Dear When You Get to Pay Taxes,

I hate to inform you that while I may not be paying property taxes, I have now been paying taxes for years. And I don?’t have to be paying property taxes to not be stupid. My family is being taxed to death. And the more taxes they have to pay (including me), the less support I get from my family to pay for my college education. Which right now, the financial support I am receiving for education is NONE. It?’s amazing. I have worked very hard to put myself through college and after my first year completed, I have walked away with zero debt and with a 4.0 grade point average spring quarter.

Which brings up another point. I didn?’t need those chandeliers in the hallways of my University to be able to achieve that 4.0 grade point average. For that matter, I didn?’t need an air-conditioner in most of my classrooms. If we want to conserve money, why not turn the air off at BOTH schools and open some windows? And on the days that we would have to cancel school due to heat?…close the school back up and turn on the air. That?’s something you should appreciate since ?“back in your day?” you had to run on a cinder track because it?’s likely you didn?’t have the LUXURY of an air conditioner, either.

Also, I bet your cinder track was the standard or even minimum in that era. In this time period, 8-42'' lanes are the minimum and the maximum...it's standard.

And you?’re right; the facilities are better on North?’s campus. But why is that? Possibly because (I hate to break it to you), but that?’s the ?“rich?” side, my friend!

I liked the point someone had made earlier, when it?’s time for the tracks at North to be replaced in less than 10 years, are we going to fork over the cash for both of them to be replaced at North while we are still denying Central the facilities?

The thing you may not have understood is that in my post, I wasn?’t asking for more new taxes. I wanted the school board to spend their money in such a way to make the two schools comparable?…not equal, just the bare minimum for Central. For instance, in times of financial struggle, the air should not even be on at either school. And the two football fields, dozens of baseball and softball fields should not be watered as often?….or only water the ones that you?’ll play on. I understand that this money couldn?’t be spent on sports, but there is still money that could be saved.

Also, I made the point that the school board should have just saved their money (which doesn?’t require any taxes). Why? Because the track at central will never be used for anything more than practice. They should have built a huge sign at North on the crappier of the two tracks they have the LUXURY of having, saying that this track is now the Central track. (It?’s funny how Central always gets the crappy end of the stick).

OR- they probably would have saved money and made a regulation track if they would have built it on the High School land. You wouldn?’t have to worry about tearing down perfectly fine stands or anything!

If the Stingel meet is associated with Pickerington as a whole, it?’s time to rotate meets?…North ran all the meets last year, it?’s Central?’s turn this year with our brand-spanking new track.

I say let other communities see the difference between North and Central by rotating the meets. Two schools within the same school district are vastly different. It just doesn't seem right.

So to you, I say good day!

Board has the Blinders on.

To the College kid that is getting nothing from Mom and Dad for college and still staying debt free that is an accomplishment. I understand OSU is around $17,000 per year now.

There have been some terrible mistakes made in our schools district over the last few years. That is mostly around the North Campus and the way those folks have controlled the school funding and the facilities. Notice that the North schools and Fairfield have everything. The refurbish are for the schools like Pickerington, Violet and Heritage.

These half hearted attempts now by Lori Sanders to now be fiscally responsible is enough to make someone gag.

The voters are wised up now and I think the school board needs to do a little wising up of their own.