Recent letters
Inaccurate; board, schools responsible
To the Editor:
The letters from Jeffrey Kircher
and Sam Renzetes printed in the August 20 edition of this paper both asked, in slightly different terms, "What is it about
no that you don't understand?" Mr. Kircher encouraged us to "Get all the facts." but both letters contain assertions
that are inconsistent with the facts.
Mr. Renzetes wrote "...expenses
for extracurricular activities and special education programs goes far beyond the intent of a basic education". Special education
programs are not optional, nor can they be considered in the same category with extracurricular activities. Westerville City
Schools (WCS), like all public school systems, is under state and federal mandates
to provide programs such as special education.
Mr. Renzetes referred to the International
Baccalaureate (IB) program as costly and for only a fraction of 4,000-plus high school students. IB courses are open to students
whether they pursue the IB Diploma or not and IB courses can serve as required
courses for graduation. Thus, the IB program at the Oregon high school visited
by a Westerville delegation had approximately 600 students enrolled in IB courses.
It is easily within reason that a similar number of Westerville students may
take IB courses. This number of students could represent between 12 to
15% of the 4000 or so students referred to. Given a potential student enrollment
in the hundreds, the costs of this program are not nearly as expensive as Mr.
Renzetes implies. Furthermore, the decision to adopt the IB program was made
during a considerable period of study by parents, teachers, administrators, and
school board members. To imply that this program is being foisted upon the community
is erroneous. The fact is, the community studied it, the community asked for
it, and the Board and Administration responded to that effort. The WCS administration
and Board of Education (BOE) have provided a number of information meetings to
present the IB program over the past year. Parents and students, and the voters
of Westerville, have yet another opportunity to get the facts about this program, and most importantly, to have their questions answered at a meeting on August 26,
2003.
Mr. Renzetes wrote "I don't want
to pay for every little program or gimmick (like the hand-held planners - a waste
of tax payer dollars) you have a whim about". This comment, like others that
have preceded it, appears to be based upon equal parts of misinformation and
innuendo. A small number of personal digital assistants (PDAs) was purchased
with a specific, targeted intent - not a whim. The intent, which was followed,
was to study how this technology could be used to measurably improve the delivery
of instruction and learning. The findings, and a demonstration of what the students
were able to achieve, were presented at a BOE meeting earlier this spring for
anyone who desired to learn the facts about this program. Subsequent to that
meeting, I learned that the New Albany district has adopted the Palm Pilot with
specific software as a replacement for a previously required graphing calculator.
Other districts are beginning to do the same. The reason is that the PDA provides
the functionality of the graphing calculator (and depending on the model of PDA, can do so for a price that is not very different) but then offers tremendous additional functionality to the students. They are closer to very small computers, at a fraction of the price. Most professionals I know switched long ago from paper-based organizers and address books, and experienced increased productivity. Finally, there
has been no suggestion that WCS purchase PDAs for all high school students. That
responsibility and decision will remain with the students and their families.
In the end, a small dedicated group within WCS conducted a study that answered
the question of whether this would provide an educational benefit to the students;
the answer is yes.
Mr. Renzetes wrote: "I wish taxpayers,
like the state, could reduce their property taxes going to the school district". First, Mr. Renzetes, you are correct on this
point. The state has indeed decreased its contribution to local school systems. This is one reason we are in the current fiscal
situation. The state has done this in two ways. First is the concept of phantom revenue. The state presumes that as your property
value increases, your taxes due to school levy millage will also increase. The state has been decreasing its contribution
to match the presumed increase from local property taxes. At this point, taxpayers
should pay close attention: When your property value rises, the tax you pay to
the school system stays level. So the state assumes that WCS is collecting more
in taxes as your property value increases, and decreases its contribution accordingly.
But since your taxes to the WCS do not increase, WCS absorbs the loss. This gradual
process has helped to put us in the current fiscal situation. A second factor
is more acute: Due to shortfalls in tax revenues at the state level, the state
has further decreased its contribution to local districts. Westerville
is therefore to receive a cut this year of more than
$700,000.00 from its expected
state funding.
Mr. Kircher and Mr. Renzetes both
imply that because the number of homes in Westerville is increasing, that the
revenue to WCS from property taxes is increasing and that this should easily
cover the cost of running the schools. Only the first part of this relationship
is true. More houses do bring more tax revenue. The assumption that this revenue
is more than equal to the cost of educating the students from those homes is
false. Your property taxes pay only for a portion of the cost of education. The
other portion is born by other sources. For schools in Franklin County, the expenditure
per pupil in 2001-2002 ranged from $7,321 to $10,750. Take any figure within
that range - how many of you pay that amount in property taxes? And remember that only a
portion of your property taxes goes to the schools; the rest goes to other local
services. The fact is that in Westerville, most, if not all, of us pay but a
fraction of the cost to educate our students.
Mr. Kircher wrote "but what happens
when the state pours additional millions later into the school districts? Will we be told about that? I doubt it." I agree with his earlier assessment that our country's economy has suffered a downturn over the past four to five years. and I will not hold my breath waiting for the extra millions to arrive, but we already have evidence that WCS would indeed tell you about it, and act in your interest. Genoa Middle School came in under budget and the BOE returned the extra funding to the taxpayers. You did not receive a rebate check, but those funds were used to reduce future needs for funding. Both writers imply that WCS and the BOE
are fiscally irresponsible and unfamiliar with current economic reality. To that
notion, I offer the following examples: With the recent reduction in interest
rates, the WCS treasurer brought a proposal to the BOE to refinance bonds that
were issued to pay for school construction in Westerville. WCS saved several hundred
thousand dollars by negotiating a smaller increase in health care premiums with
the carrier of the health care plan for WCS personnel. And when the operating
levy was defeated in May, the much maligned administrators of WCS received job
cuts and a wage freeze. Before any of that occurred, WCS already ranked
17th out of 18 Franklin County area school districts in expenditure per pupil
for Administration. That means that we paid less for administration than the state
average, less than Columbus, and less than every district near us save one. Do
these sound like the actions of an
organization that does not react
to economic realities? Mr. Kircher and Mr. Renzetes, there are former WCS
employees without jobs today as a result of your votes. You can argue that this
is justifiable given the times, but please do not imply that it did not happen.
Mr. Kircher wrote "Get all the
facts. Vote your conscience on the levy,..." I agree. The facts about the
Westerville schools were not found in the letters published last week, but they
are available. You can find much of this information on the WCS web site. You
can hear and see it at school board meetings. And despite the assertions of others,
when I have asked questions of the Board, the Administrators, and anyone else
in this district, I have received answers. Get the facts. I believe you will
find, as I have, that WCS runs a very effective, and financially lean educational
system. A levy is needed to maintain this lean and effective system and the dollars
you approve will go straight to the education of your children.
Michael J. Kelley
