I had to read the article “Sylvania school funding story taxpayers aren’t being told” by Josh Williams twice trying to make some sense of it. According to Mr. Williams, Columbus should not be held responsible for the decrease in state funding to local school districts even though that is exactly what Columbus has done. This puts more pressure on the local districts to make up the shortfall. Sylvania Schools has not had a levy in 10 years, but Mr. Williams believes if Sylvania had passed “a modest levy” during that time period, Sylvania wouldn’t be in this present situation. Apparently, Mr. Williams is clueless about how hard it is to pass a levy when there is a projected deficit, let alone when the district has a surplus. Of course, voters would not pass a levy when the district has a surplus. Mr. Williams also criticized the district for spending state funds on “operating costs,” instead of preparing for future state shortfalls. I assume he means cuts should have been made already so money could be saved to cover future shortfalls from the state. Apparently, Columbus is not at fault here.
Read more letters to the editor
Of course, the decrease in state funding for public schools comes when Columbus is giving more and more money to private schools and charter schools which do not have to follow the same regulations that public schools do. Public schools teach all children, including those with special needs, ESL (English as a second language), students from poverty, and the average student. Private and charter schools don’t have to take all students, yet Columbus gives funding to all schools as if they do. Apparently, Columbus is not at fault here…