All over the greater Miami Valley, school systems are in turmoil. Whether it’s new school buildings, funding, staffing, cuts in staff, teachers and supplies, or threadbare budgets, people are feeling the pinch.
With new school buildings, new problems arise in the form of new items needed to fill the school. With older schools, simply running the boilers and keeping the floors waxed as well as other maintenance issues can be a drain on the school system’s finances.
Any school system needs teachers and administrative folks. When school budgets become less than comfortable in the amount of amassed funds, teachers (and their programs) are the first to be cut. Administrative folks, seeing as how they are needed to continue to run the place, often keep their jobs.
When it comes to budgets that barely get the heat on (or so we are told) and have been through the mill more than once as to what else can be cut, heaven forbid, it all becomes just a little too much.
A property value and related property tax shown in the county real estate records reflects both the appraised value and the secondary charges that are a result of school levy issues that have passed and been assessed. If a school system is in turmoil and cannot seem to get its act together, then sometimes people decide that the school in their area is not in a position to effectively teach their children. If it’s simply perception, it’s still seen as reality. At that point, people often decide to move to a different school system that appears to be more stable.
What would happen if there were discussions that were respectful of others’ opinions, that gave credence to the value of having a productive yet tightly-run school, that offered alternatives in funding which included pro bono work or outright gifts from local businesses? Would this not help to stabilize the entire school environment.
As we see it from here, turmoil that is borne out of budget concerns that aren’t clear, or meetings fraught with tension, or conversations that are nothing but two brick walls looking at one another serves no one well. Towns survive and thrive, particularly our smaller Ohio distant suburbs and rural small towns, on the school system and its efficacy. Let’s make sure our towns don’t die along with the dreams of our children living near their friends their whole lives, along with the parents who move them away from that somewhat sheltered haven.
Gina Kay Landis, Realtor
