Taxpayer Monies Could Be Used To Explain Impact Of Failed Levy
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SWCS Taxpayer Monies
Should a city pay to promote its school-district tax?
NBC 4
BOTH SIDES: NBC 4 talks to city leaders and residents about a proposal to use taxpayer money to educate citizens about the impact of a failed levy in the South-Western City Schools district.
GROVE CITY, Ohio—City leaders in Grove City are considering spending about $20,000 in taxpayer money to send out educational information regarding the South-Western City Schools levy.
A school district has been pleading for a levy passage while a hometown fears failure would mean a loss of jobs and income tax revenue and falling property values.
The South-Western City School District voted to go back to voters in August, asking for the same 8.3-mill operating levy that was voted down in May.
There is a proposal to use taxpayer money to educate citizens about the impact of a failed levy in the South-Western City Schools district.
Should a city pay to promote its school district’s tax, though?
NBC 4’s Ana Jackson talked to residents and officials and got BOTH SIDES OF THE STORY.
More district cuts would mean a big blow to Grove City, according to Don Walters, business and community relations officer for the city.
“That impact on the city would be phenomenal, financially, because those employees pay income taxes,” Walter said.
Walters said South-Western City Schools is the largest employer in Grove City, and the first round of cuts already has cost the city about $100,000 a year in income-tax revenue.
City leaders have been considering a proposal to spend $10,000 to $20,000 taxpayer dollars to educate citizens about the economic impact of a failed levy, Walters said.
The monies would come from the city’s advertising budget, and the city would do the same for any big business in crisis.
Resident Nancy Smith said she’s OK with the expenditure.
“I care about the kids. I care about the people in my neighborhood. I care about my property values, and if we don’t start supporting schools, we’re all going to be very disappointed,” Smith said.
Resident Terry Jones, however, was outraged about the proposal. Jones is the president of South-Western Alternatives to Taxes, a political-action committee that opposes the ballot issue.
“I think it’s an inappropriation of taxpayers’ money. Why? Because they’re taking sides with one side of the community against the other part,” Jones said.
“It’s really still very fair in that all we’re doing is explaining. We’re not telling anybody to go vote Issue 2,” Walters said.
Jackson spoke to a member of the Grove City council who said the proposal still is new and nothing would be decided outside of regularly scheduled council meetings.
The next city council meeting was set for Monday, June 15.
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Reader Reactions
SWCS should take a lesson from Reynoldsburg and the pay to play concessions that it has required from those wishing to participate in their sports programs.
Instead of educating the tax base, Grove City should educate the school board and administration about the impact of burdening taxpayers with their unconstitutional funding methods.
Come to the taxpayers with levy requests only AFTER EVERY OTHER OPTION HAS BEEN IMPLIMENTED!It’s going to have to be addressed sooner or later.
This school system has divided our community.We’re supposed to feel sorry for Dr Wise-so underpaid for running his large corporation-our school system.Yet they with their Ph.d’s and bachelors degrees (that they cite constantly for deserving more money when the “company” is bankrupt)can’t come up with any new ideas for funding?
Set a precedence,show some innovation -anything and everything including private sponsorship of sports by the trophy and uniform companies that stand to lose revenue without them.Area hotels and food vendors could get in on it too.Why must it always be the taxpayers that prop up these businesses?
We are ignored as voters that spoke when we voted.Our constitutional rights have been violated not only with funding(that they still engage in),but also by misusing our tax dollars to place it on the ballot again and again.This time using underhanded methods to extort from us more ill gotten revenue.
between people with jobs against those who through no fault of their own find themselves unemployed and/or underpaid.
There should be recourse for voters ,that holds accountable(personally)these “corporate CEO’s"that refuse to accept and do what voters demand when they cast their vote.
They should take that money and educate the school board of what the meaning of no is!!!
Sp. restructured
Me Too! Galloway and the far west side cannot afford to subsidize Grove City anymore.They(G.C.) are out of touch with how schools are going to need to be restructered for modern times ie;decreased revenue!
We need to be concerned with what’s happening here-forclosures,shut down businesses,unemployment and poverty.Grove City is concerned about losing 100,000 in income tax,when we’ve lost hundreds of jobs(and tax base)right here on the far west side.
We can’t afford to put our heads in the sand for another four years,like SWCS wants us to do by ignoring the changes that need to be made for modern times esp.,decreased tax revenue and unconstitutional school funding.Rampant school expenditures in the face of a decreased tax base is literally forcing people out of their homes daily.
Grove City doesn’t care about that because it isn’t happening to them.Our tax dollars is what they want to boost their economy at our expense.
er, needs TO be dissolved.
Personally I would support a levy at twice the price if it meant GC got its own school district. SWCS needs be dissolved.
If school programs worked we wouldn’t see all the problems that you described in the schools.You fail to see the forest for the trees and want to keep throwing money at programs that are PROVEN FAILURES.
Firefighters work a 2080 hour year,so your comparison is flawed.I know lots of firefighters and EMT’s-not one of them makes between 38 and 48 bucks an hour.
You also assume in your 2 parent assessment(of annual income) that there are two parents,we know statistically speaking that almost half of the parents in our district are single parent households.
You speak of uninvolved parents using the schools as babysitters,what are you complaining about?I’ve never met a babysitter that made anywhere near even minimum wage for their services.
And lastly,the schools are the very definition of socialistic.They are 100% government funded!There is NO free market system there.They would all be bankrupt and adjusting teacher/administrator pay according to what their budgets dictate.We all know this would drive wages down(like everyone elses)if they had to compete in the workplace for their jobs.
If this were a true democracy,you would not be allowed to continually bring levies back after"we the people” said NO.In fact you would be fired for not finding real solutions to the problem.
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