Letters

Letter: Slide to mediocrity would begin with levy failure

Published: Wednesday, October 14, 2009 5:54 PM EDT

To the Editor:

After evaluating numerous communities, my family moved to Worthington about four years ago and have greatly enjoyed being "all in" with the community ever since, serving on community boards, coaching sports teams, volunteering in the schools and hosting block parties.

It saddens us deeply, though, to see the Worthington community at such a crossroad. People or communities don't decide they want to be mediocre. Mediocrity occurs through a series of decisions, actions (or inactions) over a period of time, without awareness of the destination. And then they wonder, how did we get here?

The thought of the school levy not passing boggles my mind. The cuts that would occur are cuts to the core. The inability of people to look several years down the road to see what Worthington would potentially look like if the levy does not pass continues to amaze me. Folks comment that they have to think about what is best for their families. Is lowering the quality of education for our kids and-or substantially reducing the value of our homes really best for our families?

The communities of Upper Arlington, Dublin, Olentangy, Grandview and New Albany also have "excellent" schools, but they pass their levies. Once you start having the reputation of not passing levies, you are now on that slippery slope to mediocrity, both with the schools and the community, which are so tightly tied together. Realtors will steer families to other communities and the best teachers are going to teach with other school districts. Many are in denial or full of hubris thinking this cannot happen in Worthington.

Those who vote against the levy should be careful what they vote for; if the levy does not pass, the slippery slope towards mediocre schools and declining home values just got a little steeper.

We believe Worthington is a great community with excellent schools and we hope it stays that way because we love living here.

Geoffrey Biehn

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Letter: Arguments against levy do not present a convincing case

Published: Wednesday, October 14, 2009 5:54 PM EDT

To the Editor:

If I get educateworthington.com's arguments correctly, we should vote against the Worthington school levy because:

n Our teachers are well paid, although comparatively not as well as they once were;

n The district budget is made up of 85-90 percent employee costs -- exactly like all other Ohio school budgets;

n Levies are before the public every three to five years, but never mind that it's because the state of Ohio decided not to allow normal inflationary growth in school revenue;

n Contracts with district employees should be ignored and only cover very short time spans so that teachers feel no long-term commitment to the district;

n Reducing the programs available to students and increasing the teacher-student ratio, thus penalizing students, is a good thing

n Reducing district investment in staff professional development is just fine, since who cares if they keep abreast of the ever-increasing challenges of public education;

n Levies should be passed, thus projected income raised, before any contracts are signed -- which, of course, would cause their ilk to argue there is no need for the levy;

n School employee health care costs are too generous and the national health care/insurance dilemma obviously started here in Worthington and should be resolved here.

Voters shouldn't fall for this garbage. Worthington schools are doing very well, are some of the best in the area, but are struggling to stay at that level and need to be adding programs, not cutting them or reducing the student-teacher ratios. Defeating this levy will assure a decline in what we offer our children. School employees have made sacrifices and will surely make others, programs have already been cut and quality put in jeopardy, and the problems with school funding will not be resolved at the local level. Please vote "yes" on Issue 49.

Bob Barkley

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Letters

Letter: School district may not be sharing residents' pain

Published: Wednesday, October 14, 2009 5:54 PM EDT

To the Editor:

Even though I reluctantly plan on supporting the Issue 49 Worthington school levy, I don't think many in the community feel the district has shared equally in the pain of the economy.

Personally, I have to take 20 days off without pay this year, one week per quarter. We are told this will probably continue into 2010. There have been no raises companywide for more than a few years. I no longer have a company contribution to my 401K. My health insurance costs me just under $200 every two weeks, and I'm responsible for the entire deductible of $3,000 before my insurance pays a dime.

Still, I'm more than thankful I have a good job even at a much reduced income level. I'm sure many in the community have situations very similar to mine. Some of my fellow employees and neighbors have been much less fortunate than I. Some of my neighbors have not worked in months. Sharing the pain, to many, equates to feeling it in your wallet.

I wonder how many people employed in the Worthington school system will make less this year or next than they had the year prior? Not getting or delaying a pay raise really does not compare to having you income reduced.

Without question, I think the Worthington schools do an outstanding job in educating our students. Many question if the school board is being a good steward of our tax dollars. Are they sharing equally in the downturn of the economy? If they did not have the funds in place before agreeing to a contract, that should make us wonder. Are the students offered too many class choices? Is there a better way to fund our schools? The voters will let them know in November.

Scott Risher

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Letters

Letter: District's quality education makes it worthy of levy vote

Published: Wednesday, October 14, 2009 5:54 PM EDT

To the Editor:

For many of us, the Worthington City School District is the reason we moved to this community, and our schools continue to add quality to our lives and value to our homes.

Even as empty nesters, we enjoy being in a district that provides numerous opportunities to enjoy sports, arts, music and theater, along with a community that appreciates education. Now more than ever, our schools need our support. Issue 49 is about our school district's and our community's future, and is needed to help continue to get the proven results we have come to expect.

We have seen firsthand how well prepared our kids are for college. Jackie was successful at Ohio University, graduating summa cum laude and obtaining a job in her field. Brandon has started his studies at the Ohio State University with 20 hours of credit because of the AP courses he took in high school.

Throughout their years in the Worthington schools, our kids have had teachers who go above and beyond our expectations, such as an English teacher who helped Jackie with her college grammar homework, a Spanish teacher who tutored Brandon in the summer after an extended illness, a physical education teacher who made gym fun for both our kids and a high school guidance counselor who spent hours helping with college applications and choosing the perfect school. These quality teachers help make the district special.

Without Issue 49, the district will face more than $14 million in cuts. The district continues to be fiscally responsible by cutting costs, having administrators who gave back their raises this year and teachers taking a zero cost of living raise in 2011-2012. Issue 49 represents a fair deal to the community. The district has not had new operating funds in more than five years and the incremental levy, starting at 3.9 mills, helps make it affordable in these difficult financial times.

Please join us in supporting issue 49 on Nov. 3.

Bill and Worthington school board member Jennifer Best

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Letter: Concessions are appreciated

Letter: Slide to mediocrity would begin with levy failure

Letter: Arguments against levy do not present a convincing case

Letter: School district may not be sharing residents' pain

Letter: District's quality education makes it worthy of levy vote

Letter: Children's education more important than vacations

Letter: Won't some levy proceeds fund employee contracts?

Letter: Levy failure would fail community

Letter: Consider reactions when making levy decision

Letter: 'Yes' vote will protect important district programs

Letter: Families need the money the schools are asking for

Letter: District provides education well worth 'yes' vote on levy

Letter: Schools' superior education help make area attractive

Letter: Cuts if levy fails would be devastating to schools

Letter: Voters should take note of absentee ballot confusion

Letter: Special education director did much for district

Letter: Assertion bears correcting