I am writing this letter out of deep sadness and frustration. I have never voted against a school levy in 30+ years as a voter, and I sincerely do not want the students of Bowling Green to suffer. The problem is that the current school board has completely lost my trust.
We have been told for years that there is no money and asked repeatedly to vote for levies, which have failed again and again. BG students have suffered through miserable heat waves without air-conditioned classrooms. Perhaps naively, I believed that this was an unavoidable consequence of underfunding our schools.
Then, to my shock, dismay, and absolute horror, the Board unanimously authorized spending $750,000 of taxpayer money on artificial turf for the football field last April! This would be an extravagant luxury for a district flush with cash. It is an absolute travesty in a district where schools lack air conditioning. This decision has made me feel like an absolute sucker for sob stories about the district’s finances. The reality seems to be that the Board prioritizes football over education.
To add insult to injury, the Board seems intent on throwing more money away on a consultant whose advice has resulted in two failed levies. I have no problem paying taxes – particularly for something as critical as education – but it makes me ill to think that a nickel of my hard-earned money was spent on plastic grass, and I wonder why the Board believes that poor advice is worth $300+ an hour.
Ideally, we could replace every Board member who cast this insane vote and replace our superintendent, who seems more like a cheerleader than a serious administrator. Unfortunately, only two Board members are on the ballot this fall, and one of the challengers clearly does not share my values – so the most that I can do is vote for Ms. Swaisgood, who seems to be a well-meaning parent, and to vote against a levy that under most circumstances I would wholeheartedly support.
This all makes me very sad, and I hope that new leaders will step forward who believe that all BG students deserve the best possible classrooms and not necessarily the best possible athletic facilities.
Scott Piroth
Bowling Green
