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Alleys need attention
To the editor: I am a concerned citizen of the village of Walbridge and I have repeatedly asked the mayor to address the ongoing problem with the holes in my alley and other alleys.
The only thing the village does with the alley is grade it and in a few days, the holes are back again. I have asked if they would take a front-end loader and take it down at least six inches and then they would need to fill it in with new gravel. This would probably take a day or so. They do not have money in the budget for this and using asphalt is totally out of the question because of the cost.
We have a new year starting soon and this should be included in next year’s budget. The village is spending around $25,000 for the baseball diamonds in Railway Park just to put in a drainage system to keep water off the diamonds. To me, this is a waste of money. Games should be rescheduled as they have been all of the previous years.
Many people in Walbridge agree with me on this. Since the mayor was re-elected, I think this should be one of the issues he is working on. He has told me he agrees with me on this problem, but for a few years now, nothing has been done.
I am a retired railroad worker who has considered running for a seat on council, but I would not be in agreement with the way money is spent in this town. These alleys are a serious problem and need to be a top issue.
Erwin Frohlich
Walbridge
Taxpayers hurting too
To the editor: Ask not what the Lake School District property owners can do for the schools because we are out of money too.
The state balances its budget in part by cutting funding for all schools. Nothing new, as the cuts are then passed on to property owners. The only way this will stop is to stop approving levy requests.
The Lake District gets high marks for educating the students, which is good news. The not-so-good-news is that Lake spends a lot of money for a very generous benefits package that costs almost $2 million, which does not include retiree benefits. These benefits are medical, dental, vision and life insurance. The employee contribution is 7 percent for an 80/20 hospitalization plan (10 years ago, it was 10 percent). Nothing for dental or life and $5 for vision. This is for full-time employees. It would be fair to say most taxpayers would be pleased to have a plan like this.
There is a wage freeze in effect for employees in 2011/12, however, no cuts in pay. There is also a wage freeze for administrators for three years. A freeze, no reduction. Several schools have taken levy requests off the ballot, took wage cuts (not freezes) and pay more for health care. This has not happened at Lake.
The levy had no merit, given the reduced home values, state of the economy, increased costs for fuel, food, medicine. Lake employees should be grateful they have work and benefits, as many Lake residents have lost their homes, are unemployed and cannot afford to pay more for anything.
Maybe these cuts would help: replace retirees with part-time employees; merge with another district; close Walbridge Elementary and bring those students to the main campus, since you overbuilt the high school, you will have room.
You have had years to prepare for these budget cuts. This is your job. Our job as taxpayers is to decide if we can afford your decisions. Five years of your requested levy from each property owner is a commitment most individuals cannot make because they don’t know how much of a reduction they will face each of those next five years in their income.
Bob Sedlmeier
Walbridge
Run schools as a business
To the editor: The Lake levy fails and the board president says he wants to hand the school district over to the state. The voters have a better idea. Stop complaining and start running the school as a business. Match expenses with revenue and do what it takes to keep the business operating. Here is what you don’t do:
• Tell the voters you already cut $1.3 million. Why did you waste the dollars in the first place?
• Pupil spending is 26 percent lower than state average. Voters only care about what they can afford to spend for educating students in their district.
• No request for a levy since 2006. So what? Student enrollment is down and you needed fewer dollars.
• Levy dollars won’t be spent on rebuilding Lake High School. Yes, but the school is oversized by seven classrooms and levy dollars will be spent to heat and maintain this oversized facility for years to come. Why a flat roof construction instead of a slanted roof, which is costly to maintain? Why no energy-saving solar panels on the roof to reduce future utility costs?
• We have an Excellent rating. Hardworking students and parents in the district are the primary motivators of the Excellent rating. Teachers and administrators assist in this process. Take the same staff and transfer them to the Toledo Public Schools system and then look at the rating.
• A strong public school system is a valuable asset. Only if a quality education is achieved at an affordable price. High property taxes drive homeowners and business out of the school district.
The following is what the school board should be doing, as a minimum:
• Ask the employees to contribute more to the benefit package. Otherwise, reduce the overall benefit package to an affordable level that allows the district to help balance their budget. If employees are not willing to pay for their high-cost benefit packages, why should the district provide such benefit packages?
• Implement a board policy of not picking up administrators’ share of their pension contributions. Why should the highest paid employees expect the district to pick up their share? Doesn’t each of us pay our share toward Social Security and the employer pays its share on our behalf?
• Eliminate the automatic step pay increases for employees. The district cannot claim a wage freeze when the district expenses continue to go up because of the automatic increases.
• Stop the open door policy of educating students outside the district. School funding per student is not matching up to the cost of having these students in the Lake district.
• Stop decreasing the number of students assigned to a classroom as student enrollment drops in order to avoid layoff of teachers.
These containment measures have little or no effect on students and parents. The bottom line is that schools are being priced out of business under the cost structure they are trying to maintain. Property taxes cannot be expected to rise to match the dollar for dollar reduction in state funding.
Passing levies only encourages the state to cut state funding to schools. People do care about our schools; however, there is a limit on costs. We have reached the limit. Lake and Northwood school districts are losing student enrollment. Do they need to take a serious look at merging together to save redundant costs to eliminate levy requests in both districts to get through these difficult economic times?
Larry Knudson
Millbury
Editor’s note: Mr. Knudson is a former member of the Lake Board of Education.
Disappointed
To the editor: I am dismayed and disappointed the Lake school levy failed. While I understand money is tight for everyone, you are only hurting yourself (property values), your neighbors who might have children in school, and most importantly, the children of our community with your no vote.
Amazing how we came together as a community after the tornado and now many people outside of our community came to help us, yet now we cannot seem to dig a little deeper and help ourselves. I am so tired of hearing people whine and cry about how much educators make. They deserve every penny and it is a thankless job, let me tell you. They are making do with very little in the classrooms and it is our children that are being hurt by all the cuts the school board has been and is now forced to make.
Someone paid for your public education – now do the same for our children. Our entire community is only as strong as the school system. Shame on you for voting no and not investing in the future of our community.
Tricia Howard
Northwood
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