Writer: ‘Wake up residents of Preble Shawnee School District’

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Editor:

It hasn’t been that many years ago that this district was in financial trouble. The State of Ohio was threatening to take over the finances of our school.

Emergency levies, tax increases, creative budget cuts, eliminating administrative staff and creative management brought the district back into financial stability.

Our “rainy day” fund grew and we had funds to make necessary repairs on our buildings.

When I was on the board, the state of Ohio gave us several “last chances” to use state funding to make renovations and/or build new schools at a very attractive rate. The board turned it down because we would have to renew a bond and an income tax increase to do it. One bond and a tax increase are due to expire this year. We didn’t need the money. We had just paid off the elementary school renovations and the emergency income tax increase ran out this year.

It was stated in a board meeting, “If we give them their money back, we’ll never see it again.” I responded, “They trusted us when they voted for the tax increase and the bond for renovations for the elementary school. If we don’t give them their money back now, they will never trust us again.”

Trust is important for any effective board member. When funding is needed in the future, the people will pass the levy.

People of Preble Shawnee, give yourselves a raise and vote no on the school levy. We don’t need to tear down a school we just paid off, and we don’t need to tear down a school that hasn’t had its 40th birthday yet.

If the quality of education is based on new school buildings, then we better tear down and replace those antiquated higher education structures of Harvard, Yale, Princeton. Some of those buildings date back to 1720.

Terry Willis

Eaton

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