Voting YES on Issue One and voting YES for the BG School Levy are related. As gerrymandering has created a super majority in Columbus, this supermajority has pushed extreme measures through the legislature benefitting the voucher system for private schools, which takes millions of dollars from the support of public schools. The voucher system awards $8000 tax dollars per student to attend private schools— tax dollars that become unaccounted for once they are taken from public schools— and the dollars do not return to the public schools even if the students do! These extreme bills will continue to pass and erode the state support for public schools until there is parity in the statehouse— passing Issue One will end gerrymandering and benefit all citizens who support public schools.
As 50+ year residents of the Bowling Green City Schools District, retirees from BGSU, and parents of children who graduated from the BG CIty Schools back in their heyday when it was a given that a BG school levy would pass, we strongly support the levy to cover the costs to operate the schools (which is not related to the levy to build the much needed new High School). The operating levy will pay to retain our current high-caliber of teachers, it will pay cooks to feed and buy food to nourish our students, it will pay bus drivers and maintenance workers to keep the current High School functional until the new building is completed. It will keep our elementary schools that are, yes, in need of replacement somewhere down the pipeline, running so that your children will be able to learn in a somewhat comfortable environment (without rats in the crawlspace). Although our only grandchildren live 2500 miles from us—we continue to be vested in supporting your children and grandchildren!
If you truly want to know why the operating levy is needed, go to the BGCS web page https://www.bgcs.k12.oh.us/— it’s all there! Or come to the October Board of Education meeting Tuesday the 15th at 6 p.m. in the PAC — the treasurer’s report thoroughly shows where every dollar is spent. We never realized all of the amazing things happening at our schools until we started going to the board meetings. Please join us at the BOE meeting Tuesday and at the polls where we will VOTE YES FOR OUR SCHOOLS and YES ON ISSUE ONE!
Jean & Chris Geist
Bowling Green
