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I encourage everyone to vote for the bond levy that is on the ballot August 6. As I travel through Darke County and all of Ohio, I see wonderful new school facilities that we have all helped pay for through our state taxes. Now it is our turn to have close to 20 million dollars of that state money returned to our district for decent schools for our children.
I would compare our schools to an old car. You can continue to make repairs for a long time, but you still have an old repaired car that will continue to “nickel and dime” you and still be barely functional. Despite the owner’s best efforts, eventually that car will be left on the side of the road while others pass on by. That is the point that Greenville City Schools has reached with most of the buildings. The administration is working hard with the money available to repair our old buildings, but in the end we are still left with old buildings that barely meet the needs of the youth of our district.
As a lifelong resident of Greenville, a graduate of GHS and a retired teacher with 30 years in the Greenville schools, I can say that the need is definitely there. From 2007 to 2011 I taught at South Middle School. It was a great place to teach because of the many dedicated students and supportive staff, but not because of the physical building. My classroom was in the original building that is more than 100 years old. While I loved teaching in the same school where my father went to elementary school back in the 1930’s, I often felt like it hadn’t changed much since then. For example, an original radiator made one corner of the classroom so hot that we had to open windows even in the middle of winter. On very hot days in September and June, the temperature rose to 90+ degrees in my third floor room. I had several fans to move air around, but there were walls with no electrical outlets, so I had to string extension cords behind and under furniture. Whenever I wanted to use a projector, students had to drag the cord under their desks and plug it in, then remember to unplug it after use so that nobody tripped. One exterior wall had flaking, peeling paint from moisture that was getting in. And these are just a few examples in one classroom. Most teachers at South and in the other buildings could tell you similar stories about their teaching situations.
Look around Ohio at all of the new schools that have been built with a combination of state and local funds. Are we willing to turn down almost $20 million from the state to help us bring our schools into the 21st century? What will happen if the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission determines that all interested districts in our state have been served and decides to discontinue funding new schools? If we haven’t taken advantage of this opportunity, we will be left with deteriorating buildings that continue to need costly repairs. In the future will we be willing and better able to pay 100% of building costs at a time when construction costs and interest rates will most likely be higher? The time to make a difference for our students and our community is now. Please join me in voting for the bond levy on August 6.
Sincerely,
Diane Amick
Greenville
I encourage everyone to vote for the bond levy that is on the ballot August 6. As I travel through Darke County and all of Ohio, I see wonderful new school facilities that we have all helped pay for through our state taxes. Now it is our turn to have close to 20 million dollars of that state money returned to our district for decent schools for our children.
I would compare our schools to an old car. You can continue to make repairs for a long time, but you still have an old repaired car that will continue to “nickel and dime” you and still be barely functional. Despite the owner’s best efforts, eventually that car will be left on the side of the road while others pass on by. That is the point that Greenville City Schools has reached with most of the buildings. The administration is working hard with the money available to repair our old buildings, but in the end we are still left with old buildings that barely meet the needs of the youth of our district.
As a lifelong resident of Greenville, a graduate of GHS and a retired teacher with 30 years in the Greenville schools, I can say that the need is definitely there. From 2007 to 2011 I taught at South Middle School. It was a great place to teach because of the many dedicated students and supportive staff, but not because of the physical building. My classroom was in the original building that is more than 100 years old. While I loved teaching in the same school where my father went to elementary school back in the 1930’s, I often felt like it hadn’t changed much since then. For example, an original radiator made one corner of the classroom so hot that we had to open windows even in the middle of winter. On very hot days in September and June, the temperature rose to 90+ degrees in my third floor room. I had several fans to move air around, but there were walls with no electrical outlets, so I had to string extension cords behind and under furniture. Whenever I wanted to use a projector, students had to drag the cord under their desks and plug it in, then remember to unplug it after use so that nobody tripped. One exterior wall had flaking, peeling paint from moisture that was getting in. And these are just a few examples in one classroom. Most teachers at South and in the other buildings could tell you similar stories about their teaching situations.
Look around Ohio at all of the new schools that have been built with a combination of state and local funds. Are we willing to turn down almost $20 million from the state to help us bring our schools into the 21st century? What will happen if the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission determines that all interested districts in our state have been served and decides to discontinue funding new schools? If we haven’t taken advantage of this opportunity, we will be left with deteriorating buildings that continue to need costly repairs. In the future will we be willing and better able to pay 100% of building costs at a time when construction costs and interest rates will most likely be higher? The time to make a difference for our students and our community is now. Please join me in voting for the bond levy on August 6.
Sincerely,
Diane Amick
Greenville