By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Ardy Gonyer, elected president of the Bowling Green Board of Education Monday evening, knows the public education pendulum is swinging wide this year.
Locally, the mood is positive as the momentum of a new high school and new operating levy are propelling the district forward, he said.
But major challenges lie ahead at the state level, where legislators are considering a major overhaul to the property tax system, Gonyer said.
While there’s room for some changes to the state’s property tax programs, any major cuts will be “completely devastating and detrimental” to public schools, he said.
And it won’t just be schools affected, with property taxes generating much needed revenues for public services like police, fire departments, parks, libraries, health departments, developmental disabilities programs, plus addiction and mental health services.
Also looming over public education concerns is the increasing amount of public funding state legislators are sending to private education. Again, “detrimental to public education,” Gonyer said.
Bowling Green Superintendent Ted Haselman also talked after the meeting about the local backing of BG City Schools.
“Our community has supported our school district,” he said.
But the threat of losing much property tax revenue is concerning.
“Schools are not opposed to revisiting the taxing structures,” he said. “But there’s got to be a plan in place. You can’t just yank out the rug.”
Gonyer, a 2004 BGHS graduate, starting his third year on the board, said the community will soon need to have conversations about the next step to move the district forward. The high school is under construction, with plans for it to be open for the 2027 school year.
But the elementary schools are still in poor condition, he said.
“We can’t forget our other aging buildings,” Gonyer said, adding that the board needs to consider all options. “We need to have a conversation about that as a board.”
In other business at the organizational meeting Monday, the board:
- Elected Tracy Hovest as vice president of the board.
- Named Gonyer as primary and Hovest as alternate ex-officio member of the Bowling Green School Foundation and OSBA Legislative Liaison.
- Treasurer Matt Feasel swore in Norm Geer and Ryan Myers, who were re-elected to the board in November.
- Scheduled regular board meeting dates for the year, all on Tuesdays starting at 6 p.m., in the Performing Arts Center lobby: Jan. 20, Feb. 17, March 24, April 21, May 19, June 23, July 21, Aug. 11, Sept. 15, Oct. 20, Nov. 10, and Dec. 15.
