Operating Funds, District Size, & Facts About Taxes
To the Editor:
I am writing in response to the recent letters supporting the
drastic measures for addressing the current financial crisis within the Westerville City Schools,
as proposed by Robert Hill. Mr. Hills first suggestion
was to sell Central High School and Genoa Middle School due to his opinion that the Westerville Schools
have reached beyond their means and fallen short. Let us remember that the Board of Education did not make a unilateral decision to build these schools, or the two new elementary schools. A capital levy was placed on the ballot and approved by the voters. Clearly, common sense will tell us that operating new schools will ultimately
require additional operating funds. I believe that as a community, having approved the building of new schools, we have an implicit obligation to support their operation. It is also important to remember that these new schools were needed due to the
over crowded conditions in our schools. The Tennessee
Project Star, which has been cited as the best designed study in the field, indicated that class
size has a significant impact upon student achievement. This view is widely supported by professional educators. In fact, private schools such as The Columbus
Academy and Columbus School for Girls strictly limit class size due to the importance of a smaller
student-teacher ratio in facilitating academic achievement.
In addition, it is recognized that larger class sizes and student populations in middle and
high schools lead to an increase in student isolation and alienation. These conditions
are a breeding ground for student aggression and other behavioral problems. In other words, overcrowding produces unsafe schools.
In his letter, Mr. Hill also suggested that the district needs
to downsize its student population and that this should be accomplished by pulling back the boundaries
of the school district. It is my understanding that the
attendance boundaries for this school district were established in the 1800s.
Is Mr. Hill seriously suggesting that we arbitrarily cut out what has historically been a
part of our school district? In fact, changes in school
district attendance boundaries can only be made by the State Board of Education. In times when all school districts are struggling financially, I seriously doubt that such a suggestion would be looked upon favorably by the State Board. Most importantly, has Mr. Hill
considered the impact upon the children involved?
Mr. Hill also raised concerns regarding the issue of tax abatements
to attract new business to Westerville, stating that homeowners are being forced to make up the shortfall
in taxes. This statement is untrue. While property taxes are abated, the business makes a payment to the City of Westerville in lieu of taxes and the school district is made whole for the taxes that would have been collected.
Mr. Hill stated in his letter that Westerville schools have reached
beyond their means and fallen short. In fact, among
the eighteen Franklin County Area School Districts, Westerville ranks 13th in total expenditure by pupil. The Westerville City School District spends less per pupil than
the state average and less than Upper Arlington, Grandview Heights, Bexley, Worthington, Dublin,
Columbus, New Albany, Groveport, Hilliard, Gahanna,
Olentangy Local, and Whitehall. With respect to all the criticism that the Westerville City Schools are administratively top heavy, it is very important to consider that Westerville expenditure per pupil for administration is not only well below the State of Ohio average, but ranks 17th of the eighteen Franklin County area school districts. Also, this school district operated
two new elementary schools for a full year without a new operating levy. The levy passed last fall was a replacement levy that was converted to a permanent
levy. It provided only $202,000.00 in additional funding. Clearly, our school district, our state, and our nation as a whole are suffering
from the poor economy. The State
of Ohio has made extensive cuts in funding to education over the past few months that have resulted
in a very serious economic picture for public education as a whole.
If the November levy does not pass, the school board will be forced to make even deeper cuts
and all students will suffer.
I understand that there are those in the community who have issues
with the way in which the school board has dealt with particular situations. I call upon the school board to propose a plan for reaching out to the citizens
of Westerville in an effort to end the divisiveness within this community. I also call upon the citizens of Westerville to respond in good faith to such efforts so that we can continue to offer excellent educational opportunities for our children. Let us not
lose site of the fact that the education of our children and the future of our society as a whole
is at stake in this dispute.
Pamela Warrick-Schkolnik
