Tax payers are over taxed. I get I. So I guess when our over taxed citizens of Tallmadge go to the polls in May they will vote NO again. Why should we as citizens be paying for all the extras anyway. After all we send our kids and grandkids to school to learn reading, writing and arithmetic. Our kids don't need all the thrills, they are all over indulged today as it is. Let the schools go back to what school is there for --teaching only. Our kids wouldn't need to go to school for so many hours a day, they would only need to be there for the subjects they need to go out in the world and live on their own, who can afford college now a days anyay, right. No more study halls, art classes, music classes, recess, field trips, just the basics. As for the student who is smart but just can't keep up with the others because of a learning difficulty, let them sink, they don't need extra help. Extra help wasn't there for me when I went to school, the only extra help I got was at home when my mother helped me most of the night with my studying for the next day of school. Oh and bussing, we hear all the time how overweight our kids are today, so let them walk to school, it will do them good. Let them also start packing their lunches every day, money can be saved by not having to cook meals everyday for them. A sandwich and an apple never hurt me when I was growing up. And why should we all have to pay for kids to play sports, or be in after school clubs, or band, or what ever they have to do now a days. It never killed me to not be able to do these things, I still got a good education. After all, not all the kids are in these extra things. Just think of all the thousands of dollars that the system could save if they didn't have to pay for gasoline, maintenance, bus drivers, coaches, etc. With the schools only being open for teaching, there would be no need for the buildings to be open for extra cirricular events, like the school plays, basketball games, band and chorus events. The community would only be paying for what our kids really need. And class sizes, with more students assigned to one teacher in one room, they could get rid of some of those teachers.
Personally, I could tell you stories of what happened to myself, 2 siblings, and my own kids when we attended Tallmadge Schools, and none of these true stories would make you want to vote yes on a school levy. As I recently told several teachers and a principal, I had not voted yes on a school levy in Tallmadge for over 30 years.
About 3 years ago, my grandchildren started going to Tallmadge. I was amazed at the great teachers they have had. How devoted these teachers and other staff at the schools are to our children. I also started to see that the administration was using our tax dollars for the kids education and not making threats to them about what would happen if a levy didn't pass. I now have greater respect for the Tallmadge School System than I ever did. I know that I would not want my grandkids to go anywhere else. Now I vote YES on the School levies, and I hope that you will take a good look at what you may be considering to vote NO on. I'm sure that you have heard it said may times before, but if we don't invest in our children, will they be there when we need them to make this world a better tomorrow for us? Beverly Sancic