Reynoldsburg students drop activities after strapped district e...

What my problem is with this whole thing is that some of these parents can't afford to have their kids participate in these activities but they want a levy to pass that ask me and the rest of the property owners to foot the bill for them. Some sports and activities cost $500 thats the amount they want homeowners to come up with every year in extra taxes so their kids can play sports. If they can't afford it how do they expect the rest of us to afford it. The answer is to find a better way to fund the schools beside property taxes.

Tim wrote:

What my problem is with this whole thing is that some of these parents can't afford to have their kids participate in these activities but they want a levy to pass that ask me and the rest of the property owners to foot the bill for them. Some sports and activities cost $500 thats the amount they want homeowners to come up with every year in extra taxes so their kids can play sports. If they can't afford it how do they expect the rest of us to afford it. The answer is to find a better way to fund the schools beside property taxes.

I agree with you Tim but are you prepared to have the state sales tax go up several percentage points or have the state income tax go up to cover it? We're probably talking increases of 25 -50% in other taxes to take the place of property tax. And typically, schools receive roughly 50 or 60% of property tax money so we would still be paying half of the property taxes we usually pay for the fire dept., zoo, metro parks, children's services, etc. and then we would have the other increased taxes as well to fund schools. The money has to come from somewhere.

Ms Boss has yet to write anything but doom and gloom stories about any school district and their struggles to pass levies ... That may not be her fault with all the idiots spewing stupidity in the SWCS district there just might not be a ray of sunshine in any of it.

Even though the misinformed think there is. Hey if I vote no I save MONEY and that is the worst misconception anyone has yet. YOU lose money if you own a house. You could lose a job if your employer moves or cuts back. Your kids or grandkids could lose out on a good education with a chance at college The Win Lose ratio is horribly slanted towards the lose column if the levy fails.

The changes coming to the district after a levy failure will be all NEGATIVE. Both in what happens in the next year and what happens in the next 10 yrs to the community in home values and jobs etc.

You think peoiple would be smarter then to vote NO and hurt themselves financially.
But apparently there are enough that just can't think past a paycheck or small tax increase.

State's Way To "Fix" School Funding
Levies Voted On By Voters Will Stop
Property Taxes Can Be Raised STATEWIDE by vote of legislature
Sales Taxe Will Be Raised to 9% By Vote of Legislature
State Income Tax Will Be Raised By 2.5% By vote of legislature
Sales Tax on Major Purchases Like Cars Will Be Raised To 11%
Licesne Tags Will Cost $250.00 Per Car
Drivers License Will Cost $50.00
Surcharge on New Home / Existing Home Sale Will Be 2% voted on by legislature

Seems to me and should seem to anyone that can read that the best way and by far the cheapest way to keep you overall tax increase to a miniumum is to vote for a levy.
Now who can't accept and undersatnd that?
I know I don't want the Great State Of Ohio "Fixing" anything else.
Lesser of EVILS is YES VOTE ON LEVIES.

OK FOLKS, if I pay (to the tune of $1000), for my child to be on a team(s), I expect my child to play. No longer is the money coming from tax dollars, where many people's money is included, its coming straight from the parents for their child alone. For this reason, most people will expect that their child, regardless of ability, won't be on the bench. EVEN IF THE BEST KIDS MAKE THE TEAM after tryouts, the fee would make every kid entitled to sizable amounts playing time.

I think the Reynoldsburg school district is wrong to charge the fees. The minute certain children are benched, for whatever reason, some parent is going to sue. This means additional legal fees for the district.

Yes you probably would see an increase in the sales, income or other taxes. Yet those taxes would likely be paid by everyone instead of just property owners. Renters and other non property owners need to pay their fair share too.

John wrote:

<quoted text>
I agree with you Tim but are you prepared to have the state sales tax go up several percentage points or have the state income tax go up to cover it? We're probably talking increases of 25 -50% in other taxes to take the place of property tax. And typically, schools receive roughly 50 or 60% of property tax money so we would still be paying half of the property taxes we usually pay for the fire dept., zoo, metro parks, children's services, etc. and then we would have the other increased taxes as well to fund schools. The money has to come from somewhere.

I agree with the "fair share" but renters when taxes are raised get rent raised too. So other then renters and property owners just who is left ?
DUH ..........
This Pay To Play you can whine about it all you want but it is fast becoming a normal part of school life all over the country. True some fees are too high or so they seem.
Phil ... Your thought on taxes is jaded like many people. The State raising other fees and taxes will be a tip of the financial scalse too far the other way and we will have no say and no control.
Approving levies is a SAVINGS for everyone.

The lowering of the proposed 15.6 mil levy to 9.9 mils for November in Reynoldsburg will not reinstate the sports budget. They will still face a large tax increase and it sounds like pay a large price for extras as well.

We can debate all we want about where the education money comes from ... everyone wants somebody else to pay in some form of tax or another. The parents should be required to pay the most significant amount of the cost as they are the ones creating the expense. We need to find an avenue to make parents responsible for a portion of the cost of their children. Heathcare, food, shelter and education are expensive - people should take this into account before reproducing.

Every parent should be charged for a portion of the services provided by public funding, those who cannot pay should be put on a payment plan until the debt is paid in full; wages should be garnished and any public assistance provided to the parents should be reduced from the time AFTER the child becomes 18 until the parent has paid the debt. WE CANNOT AFFORD TO FUND IRRESPONSIBLE REPRODUCTION - IMPOSING A REAL PENALTY ON THE PARENTS (NOT THE CHILDREN) IS ONE WAY TO DISCOURAGE SUCH BEHAVIOR.

Bodie wrote:

State's Way To "Fix" School Funding
Levies Voted On By Voters Will Stop
Property Taxes Can Be Raised STATEWIDE by vote of legislature

I don't think the state legislature has that authority.

This is so disappointing. But blame the spendthrift leaders who run reckless spending other people's money like drunken sailors, overbuilding, creating their socialist programs, and doing everything but teaching the things for which schools were created. Don't blame the overburdened taxpayers, who have been screwed over for far too long.

Eighty years ago our grandparents and great-grandparents went through far worse.

An idea:

Open up these programs only to Honor Students who have demonstrated good citizenship in their communities (by staying off the police blotter, for a start).

This would cut down on the numbers, reward excellence and good behaviour, and provide an incentive for the others to improve. Kind of a "Northwestern" model, if you will, or like the catholic schools used to be.

John Galt :: The State Legislature can give can raise any taxes it sees fit to comply with court order to "fix" school funding.
So maybe they won't raise property taxes but my bet is they will find a way to do so.
But the other taxes and fees they will raise will deeply hurt far more then the slight raise these levies will.

send it in wrote:

The lowering of the proposed 15.6 mil levy to 9.9 mils for November in Reynoldsburg will not reinstate the sports budget. They will still face a large tax increase and it sounds like pay a large price for extras as well.
We can debate all we want about where the education money comes from ... everyone wants somebody else to pay in some form of tax or another. The parents should be required to pay the most significant amount of the cost as they are the ones creating the expense. We need to find an avenue to make parents responsible for a portion of the cost of their children. Heathcare, food, shelter and education are expensive - people should take this into account before reproducing.
Every parent should be charged for a portion of the services provided by public funding, those who cannot pay should be put on a payment plan until the debt is paid in full; wages should be garnished and any public assistance provided to the parents should be reduced from the time AFTER the child becomes 18 until the parent has paid the debt. WE CANNOT AFFORD TO FUND IRRESPONSIBLE REPRODUCTION - IMPOSING A REAL PENALTY ON THE PARENTS (NOT THE CHILDREN) IS ONE WAY TO DISCOURAGE SUCH BEHAVIOR.

I don't use the zoo or the parks that much, though I am glad they are there. I don't use senior services, MRDD or ADMH services or Children's Services. So why should I pay for those? I use the library, so I will pay for that. I use the roads, so I will pay for that. I don't misbehave and I live in a safe neighborhood and I am careful about fire, so I don't need police or fire. I'll just buy a gun to protect myself. I'm retired, so I don't need job place equal opportunity protections, so I won't pay for those.

I don't produce all my own food, so I guess I better kick in for food inspectors. I'm very healthy, never get sick, so why should I pay for disease prevention and public health services?

See where this thinking gets us? I study colonial history. Early on the founders of this country figured out that the best way to provide a good lifestyle in their community was to vote taxes on themselves to fund services for everyone. It is a tried and true method and pretty cost effective if people pay attention.

Where I think there is a valid point is that if you choose to bring children into the world, you need to spend the time and effort to prepare them for school and learning, to interact with them, love and guide them, and guide their behavior. Schools could save a lot of money if they did not need to provide so many social services for kids who don't get all the above at home.

However, that is a matter of applying peer pressure in the neighborhood and will not be accomplished by failing school levies.

Passing almost any school levy is always, in the long run, your most cost effective option.

The article said "After voters rejected a 15.6-mill property-tax increase in May, the district began charging $500 athletic fees and $150 marching-band fees to pay for those programs." I'm a parent and honestly I'm alright with this. I do not live in Reynoldsburg, but this story is not unique to just their district. In hard economic times like these, people cannot afford constant property tax increases. I really feel for the elderly on fixed incomes. It is just not right for them to suffer to pay taxes for my kids to play ball. That is my responsibility.

My kids attend a Catholic school and we have always paid extracurricular fees separate from tuition, along with paying taxes for the public schools where we live. That's a decision we have made for our kids. We struggle like everyone else, working many jobs, and we have become masters at fundraisers. The parents and the kids work together to raise funds and reduce costs for every team, band, and group. It can be done and we are living proof. There are lots of creative ways to raise funds and it doesn't have to always include candy bars, gift wrap, magazines and pizzas.

School boards love to hold extracurriculars as a threat to parents and students..... if you do not pass this levy, we will eliminate. In Westerville, many homeowners are being asked to raise their property taxes by more than the fees themselves. All categories on my property tax bill have remain fairly constant over the last five years with the exception of school district taxes. As a parent and taxpayer, I refuse to be extorted for more money, when I have walked through some pretty elaborate buildings, watch electricity be wasted in buildings and stadiums when there are no cars in the lots, and have my neighborhood kids be used as pawns to take more money from taxpayers. I'm voting no in Westerville.

The lottery was suppose to fix school funding. Problem was, the State reduced the money they provided to schools since part of the money was coming from lottery. Why not make the lottery payouts less and take in more money and fund the State of Ohio schools though Lottery. If you remember, the money from the smoking Company lawsuits were suppose to go to the schools but the State is working to steal that for other budget issues. Other states get this right, what are they doing. I heard residents of Georgia get free college because of their Lottery. What a deal.

Hey Send it in has a great idea. Only families with kids pay School property taxes. Once your child is 18, no more taxes. If you have one you pay on rate, 2 a different rate, and so on. You have one kid you pay for 18 year.

Phil wrote:

Yes you probably would see an increase in the sales, income or other taxes. Yet those taxes would likely be paid by everyone instead of just property owners. Renters and other non property owners need to pay their fair share too.
<quoted text>

Renters DO pay taxes, they are paid with our rent money which the owners then end up paying their tax bill with...are you that clueless?

Unless every apartment in the complex has a child attending school, then the district WINS with complexes and condos as they get money based on the value of the buildings, even if no one is paying rent on a vacant unit.

Tim that was another prime example as to why I don't want the state fixing anything THE LOTTERY

Lightning Evans wrote:

An idea:
Open up these programs only to Honor Students who have demonstrated good citizenship in their communities (by staying off the police blotter, for a start).
This would cut down on the numbers, reward excellence and good behaviour, and provide an incentive for the others to improve. Kind of a "Northwestern" model, if you will, or like the catholic schools used to be.

Then it would be just like going to see a special olympic game.

Unfortunately, this is just part of a vicious cycle that will keep repeating itself as Americans become fatter and dumber. We as a society need to realize that activites that we consider "extracurricular" should be mandatory so that we stop putting out children, and our country, at a disadvantage.

Look at the huge increase in childhood obesity. Could that have anything to do with the growing decline of atheletics and true physical education in schools? Maybe instead of funneling billions of dollars into health care, we should look at educating students on how to be healthier now, which could eliminate millions of dollars in health care costs in the future!

We wonder why attendance is down at the Art Museum and the Columbus Symphony. Perhaps because students are no longer taught to understand and appreciate things like art, dance, drama and music? At some point, it was decided that the arts are no longer a necessary part of education, just something extra. Never mind the studies that show how the arts contribute to brain development and function in children. Never mind the life lessons that children learn by participating in atheletics and the arts- such as responsibility, teamwork, dedication, and problem-solving.

By taking these areas of education away from students, or making them only for those who really want them and can afford them, we absolutely cannot say that students are receiving a well-rounded education. And so the cycle will continue. Students now who lose out will not understand the importance of things like the arts or atheletics. They won't know how to teach their own children to appreciate such things(and they won't vote to raise their taxes so that their children can learn about something they don't think is important- it's clearly happening already).

So in the end, until we demand that our children truly receive a complete education (and are willing to pay for it),we'll all lose out to countries who recognize that there is more to educating than just the basics. They'll be smarter and healthier and get have the jobs we used to, while Americans sit on their chubby behinds in front of TVs and video games.