Guest Column: PRIME Time
Over the past few months there has been a lot of discussion about the direction in which our local schools are heading.
With ever-increasing costs and ever-decreasing funds from the state of Ohio, the burden of supporting our children is falling on our residents.
Our school board and administration is tasked with finding the best path for our students while creating the largest value at the lowest cost to our community.
To date, it is apparent the Berkshire School Board continues to find and execute the best options for the community, just as they have in the past. In 1992, Berkshire’s Board placed a 3/4 percent earned income tax levy on the ballot. In 2007, they placed an issue on the ballot that converted that 3/4 percent to 1 percent. This earned income tax is the only additional money that the school has received, even though the cost of operating the school has increased tremendously.
Considering the fact the average district puts a levy on the ballot every three years, I am confident in stating Berkshire is making the right choices for our community.
Berkshire’s current PRIME Initiative is a huge step in the right direction. The state has determined it will cost more to update our current facilities than to build new. On May 8, there will be a 3.65-mill bond levy that will allow us to create a new, state-of-the-art facility. This will cost local residents an additional $127.75 per year per $100,000 of market value on their property.
An important thing to realize when considering bond levies is that they are fixed sum levies, which means they are intended to raise a specific dollar amount over a specific period of time. If the cost to build the new facility is lower, the millage will decrease. If the bond can be paid back sooner, the millage will no longer be assessed.
In 1980, Berkshire passed a bond issue that was intended to collect $600,000 over 23 years. The bond was paid back in 18 years and the school stopped collecting money five years early.
The most residents will be required to pay is $127.75 per $100,000 and the fact is it may end up costing less.
Currently, Berkshire is doing everything we can to band-aid our facilities. Based on what it has cost to maintain and update our facilities, the district will spend $18 million over the next 38 years to maintain buildings that have outlived their useful lives. We now have an opportunity to eliminate those repairs and to invest in our students rather than in aging buildings.
To gain some perspective, you can compare our current facilities to a school bus. Imagine your kids being transported in school busses that were manufactured in 1983, 1959 and 1936. Obviously, those busses would cost more to maintain and operate than a brand new bus, and they certainly would not be nearly as safe for our children.
PRIME has found a way to put our kids in a brand new bus — a bus that actually costs less to buy new and to operate than to redundantly patch up and fix.
In a time when most school districts are being reactive to funding issues and obligatory change, Berkshire is being proactive in dealing with our future. The administration and the board have devoted countless hours to ensure PRIME is the best option for our community. They have and will continue to do their part; now it is our turn!
Have you ever felt bad about doing the right thing? A YES vote for Berkshire Schools is the right thing to do and now is the right time for it.
Tim Hess
Burton Township
