After reading many of the comments online from those opposed to the Eastwood levy, I think something important is getting lost in all of the back and forth – we actually agree on more than you might think.
None of us want our taxes to go up. I certainly don’t. I have a family, a home, and a tax bill just like everyone else. If there were a realistic option where we could simply vote “no” and keep everything exactly as it is today, I think almost all of us would take it.
But that option doesn’t exist.
That is why getting informed about this levy matters so much.
If you live in the Eastwood School District, the real question is no longer whether we are going to have to spend more money on our schools. We are. The question is how are we going to do it – and what are we going to get in return?
Do we address the problem now, on our terms, with a structured plan that allows us to take advantage of significant assistance from the state, provides important protections to our senior citizens, and makes a long-term investment in our schools and our community?
Or do we wait?
Because waiting does not make the problem disappear.
It means aging buildings continue to age. It means more money spent repairing and maintaining facilities that are already among the oldest in our area. It means increasingly difficult decisions about staffing, faculty, services, and extracurricular activities.
And eventually, it means more levies.
Emergency levy after emergency levy will become the alternative – not to build something for the future, but simply to keep applying increasingly expensive Band-Aids to the past.
At some point, one of those levies will pass because it will have to. And when it does, we will have spent years dealing with cuts and uncertainty while continuing to pour money into buildings that still need to be replaced. Meanwhile construction costs will only continue to increase.
This is the part of the conversation I believe every taxpayer needs to understand.
If your primary reason for opposing this levy is simply, “I don’t want my taxes to go up,” I understand. Neither do I.
But please look beyond that sentence.
Learn what happens if this levy passes. More importantly, learn what happens if it doesn’t. Look at the state funding available to us now. Look at the condition and age of our buildings. Look at what continued maintenance will cost. Look at what future operating and emergency levies could mean.
Then make your decision.
Because voting “no” does not mean voting for the status quo. The status quo is not an option.
We can either make a responsible investment now while state funding is available and have something to last to show for our tax dollars, or we can spend the coming years paying more and more simply to hold together what we already have.
This isn’t about “yes” voters versus “no” voters. We are neighbors. We are taxpayers. We live in the same community, and ultimately, we will all live with the consequences of this decision.
So disagree. Ask hard questions. Challenge the numbers. Hold the district accountable. But please, get informed before deciding that voting “no” will save you money.
Because when you look at where each path ultimately leads, I believe the greater financial risk – to our schools, our property owners, and our community – is doing nothing.
Eastwood is our community. What happens next is our choice.
Kyle Wright
Pemberville
