Day: October 4, 2010

A Financial Crises Just Doesn’t Happen, Lakota Should Have Seen It.

A financial crisis is not something that just happens. There are many factors that have led to the situation at Lakota. Below are two of the big ones. In short, the reason that the group against the levy has emerged is in response to the irresponsibility shown first at the state level, and second at our obligation to bring the costs down before we consider funding at the level the state is insisting on.

The first part of the problem with the funding of Lakota Schools comes from the fact that the state cut funding to our district. How did we get to this financial crisis?

This is a chart of how the state government distributed funding across the state. As Mike said, he’s right, Lakota is viewed as a wealthy district, and the plan was to send the administrators back to the community even though we all pay our taxes to the state already.

Here Mike Taylor announces the second part of why there is a problem. At the end of this video, he talks about the amount of money that teachers make. He clearly believes what he’s saying.

He’s been a part of education for so long, he can’t relate to what life is like outside of education. “They don’t make enough for the job they do.” He points to other districts, and says the wages are on par. Just because it’s broken everywhere doesn’t mean we will fund a broken system in our own district. So because the wages have migrated into the ranges they currently are, and because the state won’t support the structure, if it is left to the local community, we are going to insist that the costs be reduced to something we can properly fund. That is our answer to the state.

Rich Hoffman

www.overmanwarrior.com

Pro Lakota Group Threaten WLW Radio

Pro Lakota Group Threaten WLW Radio

In the video below Pam Perrino and others of the Pro Lakota Levy campaign threaten WLW radio for putting me on the air during the last week of September, 2010. Their goal seems to be to shut down all resistance to their proposed tax increase of the Lakota School Levy. Pam had in fact been on the previous week after Dan and I did our show. But she still harassed the radio station for putting us on the air making false claims and legal threats. This video is a bit long, but worth listening to. At the end, I found the clip where she had in fact been on the previous week, right after Dan and I left the station.

I find it appalling that Pam participated in this activity. Being against this school levy, we have every right to express our views on the No Lakota Levy side. But the Pro Side shows their arrogance in this display and threats of boycotting the station, its methods like this which have created the situation that all of education is in. The threats and intimidation create one sided debates, and over the years have allowed for the imbalance we are witnessing.

The people against this levy that I know want to see the costs of education brought down to sustainable levels. We don’t care what other schools are doing. We’re not going to play the game anymore. And these irritating displays by angry mothers and teachers are not acceptable. Nobody in their right mind would want to spend money on this type of mentality.
It’s a shame that we’re all guilty of throwing money at people like this just to shut them up.

And on top of this activity, every single yard sign the No Levy Group put out were stolen over the first weekend of October. Again, the mentality is an attempt to eliminate the opposition. This is not how elections are supposed to be conducted. One would expect this kind of behavior in places like Cuba, Iran, or North Korea. Not in West Chester, Ohio!

Rich Hoffman

www.overmanwarrior.com