Cuts, not taxes, needed at Van Wert Schools

If you take nothing else from this commentary, please remember this: no person, in his or her sane deliberation and debate, should ever, ever vote to raise their own taxes.

You will be faced with that choice in the November election, and once again the Van Wert City Board of Education, in their reckless interpretation of "fiscal responsibility," wants the taxpayers to bear the cost of their failures.

It has been nearly three years since the three veteran members of the current district administration had first shown their concern surrounding the unpromising budget crisis looming over our school district.

Those board members, Ms. Smith, Ms. Owens, and Mr. Markward, all evidently assumed at that time that they could just go to the taxpayers once again to solve their problem. We did not see any real action taken to make the then necessary budget cuts until a new superintendent came in here and took the required action to show the hard-working people of Van Wert that he meant business in addressing the financial woes of the district. I believe that had Mr. Amstutz not replaced the previous leadership, we would not see the proposed cuts of close to $700,000 already on paper. Sadly, those cuts still leave the district in a position to call out to the taxpayers for further help.

I believe there is another solution. Continue to make compulsory cuts. Look at those programs that are alternative to a core curriculum and just red-pencil them in order to regain control of the irresponsible spending of the past several years. It is truly sad that the individuals in the classrooms would surely feel the impact of such cuts, but honestly folks, you need to step up and say enough is enough. This board got us into this situation and they should be the ones to do the dirty work to get us out. Cut the athletic programs (or else offer a pay-to-play solution). Cut the music programs. Cut all spending that does not directly reflect on a student's success in the classroom.

Speaking of athletic programs, there is still an athletic complex under construction (with private monies), that this district is responsible for the cost of maintaining. (If this sounds familiar to a performing arts center putting us in the same situation, then excuse my pointing out the obvious). I attended the Board of Education meeting a couple of weeks ago and asked the board how much it was going to cost for that maintenance and as I looked each one of them in the eye I was met with a blank stare. The silence was finally broken when Mr. Amstutz spoke for them, to say that there is no money targeted for the maintenance and further, it is not known to this day how much that cost will be. I followed then with the question of how it is justified that we should pay for something that even the district does not know the cost. I was told by board member Mr. Mengerink that the Van Wert Booster Club has agreed to help pay that cost but the district treasurer, Mr. Ruen, has since informed me that there is no agreement in writing and no dollar figure has been committed. In other words, we have nothing from the booster club.

Fiscal responsibility is a phrase that sounds so significant and so authoritative. It is a phrase that board member Mr. Morrow had used in several of his public comments prior to the election last November in which he won a seat at the head table of the school board.

Unfortunately, it is not a phrase that he apparently wishes to stand behind. His comments at the last board meeting were centered around the spending mandates required by state and federal laws as to why we need to simply place the financial burden on us. Folks, asking people to pull a lever to raise their own taxes is nowhere close to being fiscally responsible. It is exactly the opposite. Mr. Morrow needs to stop burying his head in the sand and see the problem for what it is. A functioning school board should devise and work within a budget that concedes those mandates. This board has not been able to serve at that level.

Recently the federal government gave us back some of our money in the form of a stimulus check. The amount we received was dependent on several factors. I am saying to you now that you can receive a stimulus check every year for the next five years at least, and you don't have to let the government dole it out to you. Instead of giving one percent of your income to an incredibly inept board of education, you can pay yourself that amount and even make it grow with interest if you do it right.

A $30,000 household income would yield you $300. Fifty thousand pays you $500, and so on. If you have difficulty figuring this out, ask a friend or family member to help. I would not, however, go to the school board. They aren't very good with numbers.