PUBLISHED IN THE ALLIANCE REVIEW 4/26/14 OPEN FORUM: Perspective Published: April 26, 2014 3:00AM To the editor: Pertaining to the West Branch school levy: I graduated from West Branch in 1989. My wife and I have two girls open-enrolled in Damascus and own property in the school district, but currently reside in Salem and pay both Salem and West Branch property taxes. We are in the process of moving into the district early next year, so whether this levy passes or fails, we do have a vested interest in the outcome. My family history at West Branch spans five generations. That is one of the reasons we decided to come back to Ohio after living in both Chicago and then San Jose, California. We could have moved anywhere in the U.S., but we moved here to raise a family. But, frankly, none of that matters. What does matter is this community has always done right by its kids. Yet, here we are, as a community, discussing if its worth spending less than 1 penny out of every dollar we earn to support our kids, our school and the community. I do believe in the old saying a penny saved is a penny earned, but it should never be at the expense of our school and kids. I know that people, both for and against this levy, place children in the highest regard -- that is our common ground. Where I think the divergence in our commonality starts is the extent to which each of us is willing to sacrifice. The details and merit of this levy have been debated in social media similarly to kicking a dead horse. And in a lot of ways its been good to get it off our chests and voice our opinions and thoughts, but it has also been galvanizing to many, including myself. The West Branch school board has gone to great lengths to be clear and accurate on the details of this levy, and I applaud their efforts, as well as how theyve handled their fiscal responsibility and overall management of the school. More than a few have checked the numbers and come to the same conclusion in terms of the need for this levy. And the need is now. Flatly having an ideology of no more tax is easy. Its an easy position to take. Its driven by the broader political picture at the federal level that we see on cable news, where pundits back up their position using selective and narrowly focused research and talking points. It becomes the never-ending rhetoric of stand your ground to big government. But this levy is local; it is about us, not big government or billion-dollar bridges to nowhere. There is no doubt we are all fatigued and worn out by more taxes, and yet tonight there is a groundswell of people in this community that will pay. Why? Simply put, it is a small price to pay for everything we hold dearest -- our children. I want to personally thank every single person who works for the West Branch School District: the teachers, kitchen staff, administrators, school board, bus drivers, janitorial, aides, subs, coaches... All of you have my deepest appreciation for protecting, teaching, feeding, motivating and -- most important to me -- inspiring our kids. You are their guardians for seven hours a day, and its time for us to stand up for you and deliver passage of this levy by voting yes May 6. Andy Cameron Salem/Beloit
Posted on: Sat, 26 Apr 2014 12:23:11 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015