Sunday, December 20, 2009

Now is the time!

The Greenville City School District has launched a new website explaining the upcoming bond issue.


35 comments:

  1. I read the DDN everyday, and they report quite a bit on the problems in the Springboro district.The comment boards on the subject are rude, hateful and very "reader un-informed" on how school funding works. It's awful.
    I know that you can't compare Springboro to Greenville, but I believe that by-in-large we have a good public school with pretty good leadership. It isn't perfect, no place is. However, when I look at the big picture - and I mean looking 6, 12, 20 years down the road - I think that building a middle school now is the right thing for Greenville to do. Just my opinion.
    I'm retired, my kids are grown and gone, but I support the February levy.

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  2. I can appreciate the desire for a new school. However in this economy the last thing taxpayers need is an increase in their tax liability. I think most of us have enough of a burden making our monthly budget without adding to it. We would all like to do this for our children but sometimes you have to say “no” when the time isn’t right.

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  3. I have to agree with Jim… I would love to see Greenville build a new school, but as Jim said the time just isn’t right.

    People and Businesses have been struggling through this downturn in the economy and are having a tough time meeting existing bills. People from the Tax Auditors office have been going around re-evaluating real estate, and you would hope that taxes might drop due to the loss of value in real estate … but have you ever seen them lower their tax base, it would not surprise me to see an increase in value which will increase the tax burden.

    These are scary economic times, The school system already have in place the taxes to run and maintain the two buildings they want to replace, I just feel waiting may be a good idea, even though we may miss out on the stimulus money being offered. When times are better, I would rather they look at possibility to build a facility to house K through 8th Grade, so we would only have 2 buildings to maintain.

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  4. Put me down as being for the new school, today. Now is the time. We have an opportunity to use state funding. Interest rates are down. Construction costs are down. Good schools are good for the community. We can be scared, or we can be courageous. I believe we can live into the future with courage, not fear.

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  5. now is not the time. Cost are down! Where did they come up with that? If it's labor cost it's because so many people are out of work and a lot of construction work is being done by inexperienced labor. Pay a little now and pay alot later to fix thier mistakes.

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  6. In my opinion, I go with Jerry and LL. I'm so sick and tired of hearing about "scary economic times". Sometimes the only way to pull out of a tough time is to take a risk. Greenville Schools have a golden opportunity to sieze this while the money is there and the costs to build are lower. I also look at the amount of work this will bring to the community. Not only for the contracting companies that will be hired in (hopefully local), but for places like Ace, Lowes, Staples, plumbing suppliers, Wayne builders, lumber yards, etc. The local restaurants will get extra business during the lunch hours. Sure, this "boom" will go on while the building is going up - but it's money being spent none the less.
    While a K-9 building would be ideal, a 5-8 building is an excellent alternative. Like Jerry stated, I look way down the road too, and the money that the district will save by getting this new building now could very well help keep the costs of renovating or building again in the future. I know nothing about the costs to heat the buildlings in question, but I imagine that South is not the most fuel efficient place.
    I also thought of something that many folks might not consider. There are several teachers that must travel between South, JH and HS every day. They are reimbursed for milage travel. With grades 5-8 contained, a better schedule, and less distance between the proposed new school and the HS, the district will save money that would go to the traveling teachers - not to mention less wear/tear on their own vehicles. Although it isn't muich, buses would also cut down on a little bit of milage & fuel too.
    I just see the overall good in this issue, and I'll find a way to pay the extra if it means jobs and better facilities for the kids (by the way, my kids are beyond this age group). I also know that good school facilities does have an effect on bringing new people to a community (even if they work in another nearby town).
    I hate to see people get in arguments over this...I see what arguing is doing to places like Springboro and Beavercreek. Greenville folks are smarter than that - let's take advantage of what could be the brass ring.

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  7. I believe that now is the time to build. Construction costs will be down because contractors are scrambling for work in this economy. Suppliers have cut profit margins to keep cash flow, and the economy will get better at some point. Take advantage of these times as we have in the township. We built our new building at the Greenville township cemetery on 118 for about $30,000 dollars less than the estimated cost. I support doing it now.

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  8. 6:40 annon. You are so full of it. There are EXPERIENCED builders and their crews just waiting for someplace to make plans to build something so we can make bids and hope that we get the WORK.
    You are missing the point of why Greenville wants to build now. Not only for "cheap" costs, but that state money - which will make our tax increase LOWER (if it passes) - is only available for a short period of time. Why do you think Versailles, FM, Ansonia, Arcanum and Bradford all moved so quickly on the same issue?
    Get yourself 100% informed. As a builder and father of kids in the GCS system - I am all FOR this 5-8 Middle School!

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  9. Construction costs may be down but most people don't have the extra monies to fund a new school. Kudos to those of you that that have the money for a new school. I believe that you are the minority. This is an expense that we will be paying, for many years to come. I don’t think it’s a smart move when unemployment is sky rocketing.
    To 11:36 Don’t assume that someone is uninformed just because they disagree with your position.

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  10. Is there a reason this keeps getting "bumped" to the lead story on this site? It kind of diminishes your goal of providing news and information when you are repeatedly pushing the same story at people at the top of the page. It isn't new, stop trying to make it look that way. Don't make me start thinking The Daily Advocate is relevant again!

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  11. I'm interested to see the discussion on this. It's not that hard to just skip over it.

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  12. My husband and I are all for the new school! The time is now, especially with the extra funds. If the community would of said yes 5 years ago, it would of cost a lot less to build! If the community says no again, the next time it comes around it will cost even more! Come on people, the kids need this!! We will be voting yes for our children in February!

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  13. If it isn't hard to "skip over it" it shouldn't be hard for someone to "skip to it" either. Unless, of course, you think your readers are idiots and can't find something they may be searching for on your site. It just greatly reduces your credibility when you are pushing something like this down someone's throat. If you want to post stories supporting the schools, fine, but keep it fresh and don't just recycle a post and push it off as "new news" to your readers. If you want, post a link on the sidebar or something. That way it stays near the top all of the time and you don't have to consistently bump this post to the top.

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  14. Not only do the kids need this, the community needs this. Good schools equal good communities.

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  15. Everything cost more today than 5 years ago. The time is NOT now! Vote No! To many people are out of work!

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  16. 12:35: I'll continue to do it the way I want.

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  17. Darke Journal,

    Good for you - like you, I too am interested in all the comments. It puts a barometer on how the February voting might go.

    To those who think this is NOT the time, I would ask them why they think all of the other school districts (Arcanum, Versailles, etc.) decided it was THEIR time to take advantage of state funding.

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  18. Well, go figure: You'll do things the way you want on your own website. I'd expect you to do things the way you want. Just pointing out how it diminishes your site as a website aimed at providing news and information to the people of Darke County and makes you nothing more than a political pawn for the Greenville City Schools. Ironically, I have no problem with Greenville updating facilities. Just thought your "push" on this site was pathetic when I think of the reasons I started checking it out in the first place.

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  19. I agree with anonymous 10:41. Its not difficult at all to see what the Darke Journal’s political agenda is by the way the website is arranged and the news and story's are reported. It would be nice to see more of the news just reported without the tone of your personal agenda. But this is America and it's your right!

    To 10:36 I would say that you need to ask Arcanum and Versailles why it was right for them. My opinion is that they have more of middle and upper middle class incomes in their community and feel that they can afford a tax increase.

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  20. I love it. 95% of the media is shamelessly liberal, they deny it at every turn, claim they're objective, and nobody ever complains about that.

    But I run a tiny little website in Darke County, Ohio, readily admit that I tilt right, welcome people (lefties especially) to submit opposing viewpoints, and yet people are here griping about my credibilty and the like.

    Deal with it ... :)

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  21. DJ, for what it's worth, you know yourself that many people have complained for many years about the "liberal media." Also, if you have a site like this, there will always be complaints from someone. I wouldn't get too defensive about them.

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  22. I could care less about the politics of the site. It is just redundant to continually bump this "story" to the top. Are you going to bump the story about Bob Robinson announcing his candidacy for Darke County Commissioner to the top again, too? I am sure he'd love the free publicity. Perhaps Mr. Huffman would like the story on his candidacy bumped? Or maybe you should just bump up the first post you ever made about some local business showing their "Wave Pride." Would you do that? Doubtful. It would just become ridiculous and diminish the credibility of your site. Hence what is happening by bumping this. I said it before: just place it in an ad on the side or even a banner ad. You accomplish your goal of pushing the levy while not compromising your site as something intended to deliver news and information. This isn't a "news story" that needs to be repeated (or needed to be treated as "news" in the first place), so don't pretend that it is.

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  23. To Anonymous
    December 20, 2009 8:26 PM


    Maybe you should quit whining about this topic and skip over it as it was suggested to you.
    This topic has the potential to affect a lot of people in the Greenville area for a long time either way.
    It isn't very hard to start your own site if it bothers you that much.

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  24. To 8:26 You seem to forget one thing - we will all be able to cast a vote for or against the levy. Likewise, we can either vote for Robinson or not. And, I believe that there are some people who consider the school levy to BE a news story. Or, would you rather be reading about say, the latest food bank to crop up in Greenville?

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  25. The levy may be a news story. A website created to promote the levy is nothing remotely close to a news story. It is a page seven blurb.

    To the contrary, I would MUCH rather read about the latest use of cornmeal in being mixed with crack and sold on the streets of Greenville or something awkward like that.

    Right now I am just getting some good laughs out of this because I was chatting with someone online and betting how long it would take the creator of this website to bump this back to the top. Seems predictability runs in his/her (not to give away said person's gender) blood.

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  26. You win 9:56pm. I admit it - I'm biased and not very credible. You, on the other hand, are brilliant. I'd give you proper credit, except that you're anonymous.

    And you're not getting any more comments approved either ... :) ... Goodbye!

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  27. Thank you DJ.
    Who ever is Anonymous December 20, 2009 9:56 PM, you really are a dumbass that is scared to put your name down. No one makes you get on this site. Who cares if DJ bumps a story to the top. Its his website, and if you don't like it, find another website.

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  28. Well I’m glad that part of this forum is behind us… Thanks D.J.

    Now to debate the issue at hand, is it the “right time” or the “wrong time” to build a new school building?

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  29. local contractors would not get the work because there prices are to high.If they was going to give it to a local contractor why didnt they give the remodel at the hospital to a local company?

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  30. Thank you John for getting us back to the real issue. I believe not only that this is the right time, but it may be the only time we will have the opportunity to erect a much needed new school building with state provided funds. There should be no debate regarding the need for this building, particularly after what happened to our Junior High building last year. The question should not be, "Can we afford this now?"; but rather it should be, "Can we afford NOT to do this now?" In my opinion (even as a retired empty nester) that this is the right thing to do and this is the right time to do it for our community and most importantly for the children of our community.

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  31. To Anonymous at 11:16 AM -
    Price is certainly an issue, but it's not the only issue. Many of the local contractors are too small to handle huge projects. Messer Construction (Wayne Hospital addition) is a very big company. Wayne Hospital is a great organization with a very community-oriented board of trustees. I'm sure they support local business as much as is practical.

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  32. I believe that children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty they possess inside. Give them a sense of pride to make it easier. Let the children's laughter remind us how we used to be.

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  33. Thanks Whitney....couldn't you come up with something of your own?

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  34. I don't think a lot of people can come up with anything "original" on this site. Sometimes it just seems like the same thing over and over again.

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  35. This debate will go back and forth like any school issue does, and when this kind of thing comes up, I always sit down and write out a pro/con list. Right now my pro list is a little longer than the con list - so I'm going to be in support for building a middle school at this time.

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