Letter to the editor

Margaretta flyer

information

tainted

Margaretta's July newsletter was dedicated to the 8.37 mill levy to be voted on Aug. 4. This brochure compared Margaretta to various other districts using four charts.

However, only select schools were in each chart! They infer that Margaretta has the lowest School Taxes of any of the surrounding districts, the lowest School Taxes in Erie County, the lowest Local Revenue per Pupil, and the lowest Expenditures per Pupil.

I went to The State of Ohio Department of Education's web site to verify these claims. I researched these Districts: Margaretta, Perkins, Sandusky, Fremont, Bellevue, Berlin-Milan, and Clyde. What I found is this.

Margaretta is currently 2nd of the 7 in Expenditure Per Pupil, only behind Sandusky. Margaretta spends more per pupil than the other five districts, yet state All Extracurricular and Sports will be cut if the levy fails.

Margaretta is 4th of the 7 in Local Revenue, solidly in the middle. Why aren't the other districts going to their voters with the same dire warnings of no Band, FFA, Yearbook, Drama and NHS?

If Margaretta's Board and Administration can put our miss-information about finances, how can its voters have faith in anything they say?

One of the facts which never appears in print is the disregard for the residents of the former Townsend District. Townsend School, which has a higher percentage of useable space, more amenities, and is in better condition than either of the three story building in Castalia, was Closed.

Students are now in portable classrooms just outside Castalia while Townsend is rented out. In the brochure it state"...the future of our community depends upon the passage of the upcoming levy."

It certainly seems the "Community" that the Board and Administration are appealing to be saved is centered around the duck pond, not across the district.

Chris Wiedle, MHS 1968

CR 294, Clyde