(To see The Next Day Part 1 from last year click here):Doc Thompson of 700 WLW and I talked about the election results as the smoke cleared on the “Day After” the Election of 2011.
Many of the reporters I spoke with on Election Day wanted to know what I was going to do to “celebrate” on that very contentious night. “I’m going to play Wii Golf with my wife,” I told them, which garnered some strange looks.
While we did just that I did watch the numbers come in off The Butler County Board of Elections web site, so my mind was on other matters. Issue 2 failing demonstrates how the public unions have managed to garner 43.4% higher wages than the rest of us. They are an organization of deep radicalism that is prepared to yell, march, and even mislead to protect their hive just like a swarm of insects. I’ll have much more on that later, because my focus as the smoke is clearing upon the rising sun of Wednesday, November 09, 2011 was on the school levies.
Issue 2 was the fix to the school levy problem, and I saw that as the results came in, that the same “machine” of the public unions that we saw in the Issue 2 debate had taken its toll on the school levies. Little Miami on the ninth time passed its levy and Lebanon did also, both by margins of less than 200 votes. Both of those schools are on their second attempt within the same calendar year, and show clearly how school systems controlled by radical union elements seek to beat down the tax payer until the taxpayer just says yes.
To see coverage from Channel 5, Click the link:
http://www.wlwt.com/politics/29718008/detail.html
http://www.wlwt.com/video/28804024/detail.html
I was also dismayed to hear that Fairfield passed their levy. Fairfield like Lebanon has the very unfortunate situation where they have many apartment dwellers that do not pay taxes, but can vote. So they are prone to vote for school levies because by the time their landlord raises their rent, they’ll most likely move on to a new residence. But out of all the public schools in Southern Ohio, it was Lakota that was the focus and it was the third time that the No Lakota Levy group had organized to shoot that levy down. As the evening closed and I was on the 15th hole our Wii Golf game, it was apparent that Lakota’s Levy wasn’t just going down to defeat, but was going down soundly 54 to 46 percent. That means from the last levy attempt to this one, even after the district cut busing, cut electives, made sports pay-to-play, and even lowered the levy amount that the defeat margin actually gained 1% to spread the margin of victory from 6% one year ago to 7% now. Even with all the dirty tricks that get played, especially the massive sign theft and vandalism that went on during this campaign, voters saw through it. You can listen to Doc Thompson and me discussing this very issue right after I returned home from voting on Election Day.
Gaining a whole percentage point said a lot from a community who had seen all the dirty tricks in the OEA/NEA handbook, the same dirty tricks that are being applied to all the other schools, especially Little Miami. The goal is to wear down the opposition gradually by attempting levy after levy after levy until the people standing up against the measure just give up. That is the way the unions operate, and is exactly why Issue 2 should go right back through the legislature, for a relentless pursuit to jam it down their throats till they run out of money and energy. That’s what the unions have done to the public after all. Make the unions defend against it next spring and summer, like we have to defend against tax levies every 6 months, and let’s see how long they last. They taught us this game! But in the case of Lakota, with a new superintendent, nearly $30,000 spent to shove another tax initiative down the community throats, Lakota lost ground. $12K of that $30K was spent just on consultants who advised Lakota how to garner positive public reaction to their message, which even as the closing minutes of the election ticked down, Sandy Wheatley pictured here laying on the ground at a party for the Move Forward Campaign was having to celebrate their efforts…………?????????????……….stated, “We said all along this was the community’s choice and it appears that the community said it is not ready to move forward.”
That wasn’t the worst comment. Here’s another, “I just don’t think people, who don’t have children in school, think about what the ramifications really are. They just don’t want to pay more money. Trust me, I don’t want to pay more money, but I have to make a commitment to the community I live in,” said Felice Fishman parent of two children in the Lakota school district.
“It is very frustrating,” said Chiqui Aull, who is a parent of two in the Lakota school district. “It doesn’t make sense to vote against it because everyone who owns property in West Chester just had their property go down.
“It is sad because people moved to West Chester for Lakota because of the school system and they could end up choosing Mason or Fairfield, who just passed a levy.”
Source: http://westchesterbuzz.com/2011/11/08/lakota-levy-fails-for-third-time-since-2005/
I find it absolutely amazing that all those statements from people who seem intelligent are all taken straight out of the union playbook of prepared emotional statements intended to manipulate the public, just like the unions did with Issue 2. As my wife and I finished up our golf game I wondered if those people even knew that they were “programmed” to believe such things. Probably not, their static patterns are so intrinsic to their state of consciousness that they utter things from their mouths which are not their own, which they’ve simply heard from someone else. They are unknowing foot soldiers to tyranny, a system that uses our kids, and our community in service of a larger system, an organism onto itself called unionized labor.
By gaining the extra point this time it disrupts this union plan created by the OEA and maintained by the OSBA in Columbus, with smiles of course, which uses incremental cuts to services in order to extort more tax money from property owners, and the residents of Lakota stood up for themselves, and that is good to see. To the parents who are in fact the selfish ones in this matter because they allow union radicalism to cloud their thinking, and have their entire focus on their little child within the bubble of public education, they fail to see the bigger picture. They forget that there are other elements to a community that make it great, with Lakota just being one element.
To paint the picture let me direct your attention to the spread sheet shown here which will give you some idea what a good friend of mine who owns nine local businesses ranging in value from $1 million each to $1.5 million pays in taxes. On Election Day he is already paying a substantial amount of money in taxes not only for his personal residence, but for his business properties listed in the spreadsheet. If the Lakota Levy had passed, he would owe roughly an additional $72,413.79 in taxes because commercial property is assessed at the same amount as residential property. Many of the parents, teachers and administrators who have large sums of money dumped in their lap because they work in the public sector and are accustomed to making 43.4% more than the rest of us, simply don’t fathom what that means, because they live in a bubble of their own reality. They would be inclined to say that my friend is wealthy, so he should “pay his fair share.” I can tell you what my friend says, “Why should I locate a business in Butler County if they are just going steal my money.” Short-sighted parents who only care for their little children don’t understand that it is the excellent commercial development along with the residential development that makes a community great, and the Lakota District is a reflection of that balance, not the creation of it.
People move to Lakota for the schools as one factor, but other factors include highway proximity, job creation, entertainment options, and tax rates. When tax rates are high, commercial property moves elsewhere and parents who have their kids raised sell their homes and leave to avoid the high taxes. That is the essence of the problem that all those people pictured in that party picture simply don’t comprehend. Those Move Forward supporters don’t see it because they are in an education bubble that we fund, and have lost touch with reality.
That is why the No Lakota Levy says that before there is ever another levy attempt that the administration at Lakota should sit down with the teachers union (LEA) and require them to bring their compensation costs into the range of the approved budget. That’s what the election was all about, what is the “approved budget.” This community is not in the mood for the silly union games of extortion, of inconvenience in order to force higher taxes. It is the responsibility of the employees of the Lakota School District to maintain the high level of service we expect. And we expect our management to control the costs. Not for the costs to control management! If there are members of the LEA who don’t want to comply with this fact, then look for a job in a different district and see if they are willing to pay for the bloated salaries. Those employees could be replaced easily with more affordable and eager young professionals.
So Lakota drop the union radicalism and play ball, or we will do this again, and if you think this effort was more aggressive than last time, I’m sitting on information that will make the next time even worse. So be smart, understand your role in the community, and don’t be ridiculous in your compensation. What you do next will determine much.
For the answer to everything click the link below!
Rich Hoffman
https://overmanwarrior.wordpress.com/2010/12/04/ten-rules-to-live-by/
http://twitter.com/#!/overmanwarrior
www.overmanwarrior.com
The Gunfighter's Guide: 
I was really disheartened to see facebook comments from people I consider friends saying things like “I cannot believe people do not want to support our schools and our community”.
This really bothers me! I come from a state that puts out a line item budget-if they want a million dollars, there is a budget written out telling you where this money is going!! Voting no means in no way, shape or from that I do not care about my community–far from it!!! I just want some fiscal responsibility and accountability. Tell me where the money is going….is that so much to ask?
I heard you on WLW today (road-warrior that I am, I figured out how to listen even while I’m out of town) and heard you today. You are so correct about the band-aid analogy.
Keep up the good work Rich!
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I never heard of a group that deals in millions of dollars who didn’t set some sort of budget constraint and let costs drive the business, yet that’s waht is happening in education. Pretty nutty stuff. They will always bleed until they come up with a real business formula that is designed to endure for generations.
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Congratulations to you “Warrior” and to the rest of your group that did a great job in educating the community. The pro-levy people made huge mistakes by tearing down signs and threatening the people who refuse to pay more taxes. Once they proved themselves to be the vandals that they are, the community woke up.
Too bad that the people of Lebanon fell asleep at the wheel. Most people thought the economy would cause the levy to go down by default. Those of us who have been in this fight for years know full well the tenacity of the union thugs. They are a me me group and couldn’t care a whit about the students. The “kids” are just a means to an end. That end is more money, more benefits, fewer classes, more supplemental contracts etc. etc. Every mommie should know they serve a purpose too. They scare these innocents into submission every time.
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Thanks. Lebanon did fall asleep. That’s a shame. And union thugs is the correct term.
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I agree with you that union salaries are bloated. All one needs to do to understand that is to look at Lakota’s financial statement. Roughly 80% is spent in salaries, benefits and retirement. However, I fail to see how this is the districts or the students fault. In my opinion, the district has been smothered by unions refusal to pay more of their benefits. As a business owner, I have seen how the increasing cost of health care has effected business. Thankfully, we do not employ union workers. We would be out of business.
Regardless, this should not be taken out on the students.
How a person could vote no on issue 2 and at the same time vote no on the levy is a mystery to me. Lakota spends less per pupil than most districts. The teachers (finally) took a real pay freeze.
Something has to give. People can not continue to vote down issues such as issue 2 and school levies. Our country and our future suffers because of it!
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Nice comments, thanks!
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I’m actually shocked at the number of levies that did pass. It seemed to me as I saw the election results Wednesday morning that the majority of school,police, fire, EMS,mental health, senior services and other levies all passed. Even the 13.95 mill Little Miami levy passed with a near 50/50 split. My best friend says she thinks the unions and liberals got out the vote for Issue 2 and the levies passed “on its coat tails”. The other sad thing is that Cincinnati City Council is now 8 liberals and one conservative….er, make that 9 liberals. I can’t wait to see how fast the streetcar is built now and how fast taxes will be raised. Detroit, here we come.
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This is more than people just being stupid. They are fundementally broken.
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Yep, well said Phil. Lebanon failed by 129 votes and we have ballot issues here. The comment from Sandra about the economy is one that I held. Apparently the economy has nothing to do with it when the unions have slapped you around into submission. I don’t believe that people stayed home and didn’t vote on the premise that the economy is so horrible that it would surely fail. I think they stayed home for dancing with the stars….
Oh and now we have “rear entry” homosexuality being shown on Glee last Monday. The dumbing down has not only begun but has a firm grip on the youth as shown by the college kids panties in a wad for the firing of Penn state coach. Forget about raping kids.
“I am gross and perverted
I’m obsessed and deranged
I have existed for years, but very little has changed
I’m a tool of the Government, and Industry, too
And I am destined to rule and regulate you
I’m the best you can get, have you guessed me yet?
I’m the slime oozing out from your TV set.”
Frank Zappa, “I’m the slime” 1971
Current Communist Goals
EXTENSION OF REMARKS OF HON. A. S. HERLONG, JR. OF FLORIDA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Thursday, January 10, 1963
This is just a few…….
21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures.
22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to “eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms.”
23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. “Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art.”
24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them “censorship” and a violation of free speech and free press.
25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.
26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as “normal, natural, healthy.”
27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with “social” religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity which does not need a “religious crutch.”
28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of “separation of church and state.”
29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.
30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the “common man.”
31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the “big picture.” Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over.
We’ll be lucky to be Detroit.
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LOL, you don’t feel a little passion over this do you?
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A tad. LOL.
I posted those #’s of the communist goals because those are firmly in place. The whole Glee thing is a no-brainer to call your statesmen. I don’t want straight sex on at that time much less gay…but it’s part of the plan and until you understand…it’s just accepted. Squishy society. Literally.
It’s frustrating to know it. But to watch it happening at break neck speed is a whole other thing.
No one wants to say ANYTHING! (except the few)
We’ll get what we deserve.
Off to find my Xanax!
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Rich, I happened across your site the other day, looking up salaries while debating some FB friends who were upset that their school didn’t pass a levy. With that said, I thoroughly enjoyed your article on the 400+ teachers making $60k for the intel, not the fact that they make so much.
With that said, I’d love to see one for the other school districts as I’d like to join forces against them in my community (Northwest Local) as well. I just want to see fiscal accountability and stop the whineing from my cousins who are teachers about salaries, pensions and benefits and get a true glimpse in the disparity between the public vs private debate on an older district.
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Ryan, go to Randy Bertram and tell him that you want the W-2 forms for every employee in the district. He has to provide them to you. He gave them to me
for Lebanon when he was here. You should put it in writing and hand him the
letter, having someone in the Treasurer’s office signing your copy to prove they
did receive the request. He can forward the information to you on a PDF file
or have you pick it up on paper. You are entitled to have access to every single one of the district’s records with few exceptions. It is time to act and for more people to get involved. Don’t be afraid. They are afraid of us having too much knowledge. (If you get it on paper they will charge you 5 or 10 cents a page. but it is well worth the money. Shocking to see their real salaries when all of the supplementals are added in to the total.
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