Residents ask questions of Perkins School Board, Superintendent

The pictures are kind of useless without a story. What took place at this meeting?

Ask him about his edifice complex.

Did the Register do any live filming? You can't beat video.

The real question is, what gave the BOE the right to move millions of dollars from the operating fund in the first place to pay up the gap in the stadium budget? They should have gone door to door and begged for the money instead of robbing Peter to pay Paul. Now there is a gap in the operating funds that is much harder to fill and teachers will lose their jobs! Nice job BOE!

Lots of hot moms in these pics!

Here is the Letter to the Editor by Ralph Roshong who is a retired Superintendent of Schools from Perkins.

Perkins trying to build without voter approval

The Perkins School Board of Education is asking its voters to approve a 4.9 mill operating levy in the May primary election. The board is telling us this levy is needed due to the loss of state aid, reduced tax collections and increased costs. They are wrong.

Those three conditions may exist, but the actual reason they are requesting the support of the voters on this 4.9 mill issue is to replace the 5.2 mills of inside operating millage the board decided to change from operating to permanent improvement beginning in 2012. Of course, this step was taken so the board can construct a new $50 million school without the vote of the taxpayers.

However, the really serious impact of this move is that the school's operating funds were reduced by $2.2 million in 2012 and another $2.2 million in 2013.

That is a little short of the $4.5 million in operating funds lost for the instruction of our students between last year and this year. It appears ironic that the board will solicit our vote for an operating levy to replace the inside millage operating funds they moved, but they will not give us a vote for a new $50 million school facility. It must also be assumed that in going forward with this building project, the building will potentially be sized to house a major portion of the 500-plus students of non-resident parents who do not pay property taxes in Perkins Township. Each of these students bring to the district $5,500 from the state, but it costs the district $9,500 each to educate them. Many areas in most buildings have become crowded, additional teachers have had to be hired, and many alterations have had to be made to accomodate these additional students from the open enrollment program.

All of the current four school buildings have been involved in three or four energy retrofit projects over the last 25 years through House Bill 294 projects and as a result, are in quite satisfactory condition. The 1907 area of the high school, the north end, is the only parcel in need of possible replacement.

In addition, the board is asking for renewal of a 2 mill permanent improvement levy originally passed about 1990, which generates about $700,000 per year. The district's voters have passed/renewed this levy approximately five times with the understanding that the funds would be used to keep our four school buildings in top-notch repair. It appears the board recently assumed that keeping the buildings in top-notch condition is not the primary purpose of those funds and is using the permanent improvement funds on many other projects, most notably $1.7 million on a new stadium, making numerous alterations to the buildings to house the 500-plus non-resident open enrollment students, laptop computers for most students and staff, etc. If the board determined that additional funds were needed for these non-building maintenance projects, then additional funds should have been requested from the taxpayers for those purposes. The $700,000 collected yearly should have been used, as intended by the voters, for maintaining our four current school buildings, and possibly purchasing a few school buses.

It is apparent that the 5.2 former operating mills and the two long-time established permanent improvement mills are being combined to provide a 7.2 mill permanent improvement "building fund" for the board to expend as they wish on a $50 million project WITHOUT voter approval. Every Perkins School District voter must be aware of how the school board, the guardians of our school district's funds, will be using those taxpayer provided funds, especially a $50 million building program, without our voted approval.

Ralph Roshong Perkins Township

How about a fact check on Mr. Roshong's editorial. Just because its an editorial doesn't mean its accurate.

Moderators have removed this comment because it contained Personal attacks (including: name calling, presumption of guilt or guilt by association, insensitivity, or picking fights).

Gunner wants 2 more years

Gunner also stated that if we didn't approve of him or board members to vote them out. It was also stated that they have been hearing that people don't trust them and they don't understand why.

I agree and we have to vote board members out to get Gunner out

When is the next school board election?

I believe they said some members are up for reelection this November.

I think that by the end of everyone fighting about who's idea is better, or where money went,ect... In the end the students suffer. The administration will continue making their salary, people will continue to be angry. Not everyone in this entire world will agree upon every issue. However, with that being said, instead of pointing fingers and saying who did what, everyone needs to look at their own doorstep and where their own accountability lies. If you are not happy with the decisions that are being made than do something about it. Either come up with and propose a plan that solves all problems, or vote members of the board out of office. However, in all of the hoopla of the levy, the only thing that a 'No" vote is going to do is hurt the children in the schools. When everyone can quit pointing fingers and come up with a solution, than maybe something will be accomplished.

Furthermore, I'm sure that 50 people will argue with the statement that I just posted, and not one person will have a valid solution on how to solve all of the problems. It is absolutely hysterical that 9 times out of 10 someone will pipe up and say move the milage money back and all of the problems will be solved. What they fail to realize is how school money is set up. Do you realize that each building is filled with asbestos . Have you realized that when the health department looks at your building they are looking at the surface and not the structure. Do you realize that bathrooms back up and teachers are teaching in sewage. No you probably do not realize any of those things, and if you did then your next solution will be to say repair. Well how many of you are going to take a car that is worth maybe $2000 and put a $1000 of repairs into it. Not many! And then lets go on to use our brains and think that in today's day and age, it is much cheaper to build than it is to renovate. Lets face it, if I take a home that was built in the early 1900's and I remodel/restore it, I will spend much more than I would to build a new house. Sorry folks but that is the reality of the times that we live in. And the majority of people that will read this, and decide to retaliate back through a comment, usually are the people that think " it doesn't matter because my kids are already out of school, Or you are too simple minded to expand your mental capacity to understand where school money comes from, and what the people YOU ELECTED are trying to establish in your community. Not to mention that you have a banker on the board. What in the world do you think a banker does for a living? They are opportunist. They look financially at what will give you the most for your money over the longest period of time. Hence the word "investor" they make investments. And in the end when all of this blows over, all of the people that are putting up such a stink as to less than $20 a month, will enjoy these facilities and all will be forgotten. So yes, everyone is entitled to their opinion through their freedom of speech, but when you decide to come with a comment that has some validity in it, or is somewhat thought out and educated than please share with everyone what you would do in their given situation that solves everyones problems. But until then, realize that Perkins is an extremely sought out area, you are lucky to live in a tight nit community, and by arguing to the death of everything solve problems instead of creating them, and bring your community back together instead of ripping it apart!

The attacks on the no voters have begun! STAY STRONG AND VOTE NO!

With all the layoffs at kbi today, don't tell me it's for the kids or it won't cost that much.

Seriously the attack on no voters has begun. Exactly what I would expect to hear from someone who again probably has no idea as to where any money comes from. There is no need to STAY STRONG if there is no room for persuasion. If you are 100% certain that you have all of the right solutions and answers, you wouldn't be pleading to people to STAY STRONG. What honestly do you think that staying strong will do? Again this all becomes a power struggle. The voters that are voting NO are going to 'take a stand', and all the meanwhile they are wearing Perkins gear that clearly states that you support the district that you are living in. However, if you truly supported the community that you are living in, there would be no question that your decision would support the students and the future of this community. Everyone is quick to point fingers, and also everyone has their own personal agenda. Why do you think that this society is so pleasant to live in now. This is no longer a society that supports each other, this has become what benefits MY LIFE, and how can I show that I have POWER. The majority of the people that comment negatively on this blog, are people that live to argue no matter what solution is available. So yes I urge to to vote NO show that you have power, that you are in control, that you can't stand the decisions that are being made, and guess what nothing still will come out of your situation positively, and I'm sure that cuts will be made, that students will suffer, that more people become unemployed, and this community will crumble. And the one solution that everyone has is to move the milage money back. So go ahead and move the money back, and guess what that solution only lasts for a year or two, and a levy will still be needed. So tell me how that will improve this community over a long term of two years because someone out there still not approve of one decision or another.

VOTE NO!

Again pure ignorance at it's finest. I don't even work in the education field. But maybe I should change my profession to a psychologist because I sure can spot 'stupid' when I read it.

Support Perkins Schools...VOTE YES!