Thank You Oakwood

Dear Oakwood Voters,

On Nov. 6, you will go to the polls to vote. One of the positions included in this election is my seat on the Oakwood Board of Education. Although I am running unopposed, please do not think that I take you or this election for granted.

For the last four years, the Oakwood City School District has gone through a period of tremendous growth. By “growth” I am not only referring to enrollment figures; I feel our Board of Education and Administrative Team have grown together and are focused solely on making the best decisions possible on behalf of our students. When schools commit themselves to focusing on students, wonderful results happen.

As the Communications Liaison for the Board, I have worked alongside my fellow board members and administrators on a number of new communications efforts. You may have noticed an increase in the number of newspaper articles about our schools. We embarked on the creation of a new vision, mission, and goals for the district. And finally, when we consider new policies or programs, we often include a committee of citizens and staff to assist us in reaching our goals.

The board’s newest initiative is our “Staying in Touch” sessions.  Groups of citizens gather with our superintendent and school board members in private homes to discuss whatever issues are on their minds. We are dedicated to continuing these meetings. We have heard of no other school district anywhere that does this. If you would like to host or attend one of these sessions, we’d love to hear from you.

For the last few months, our board has been focusing on the 6.5 mill Operating Levy that will also appear on the Nov. 6 ballot. The most frustrating thing for every school board member is Ohio school finance. Even though the Ohio State Supreme Court has ruled on four different occasions that the over-reliance on property taxes to fund schools is unconstitutional, our state legislators still have not come up with a viable solution.

However, as a person who has reviewed our school finances for four years, I can say we run a tight ship. There is no fat in our budget. Since the law says that voted millage cannot grow with inflation, we must return to our voters as our costs rise. I feel fortunate to be part of a community that continually supports our marvelous educational programs. Thank you for your deep commitment to our schools.

This past year has yielded amazing results, including the naming of Oakwood High School as the number one high school in the state in test performance. Oakwood is now recognized as a No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon High School, one of only 40 high schools in the country and five in the state of Ohio to be so named. Finally, this school year 17 students were named as Commended Scholars or National Merit Finalists.

These results reflect who we are in Oakwood, a cohesive group of people who are dedicated to graduating well-educated, community-minded citizens. I am so proud to be a part of that process.

My personal agenda for the next four years is to continue serving the students and citizens of our great community. Thanks for your trust in me. And from the bottom of my heart, thank you for all that you do for our children.

Debbie Hershey
Vice-President
Oakwood Board of Education

Property tax rebates?

Citizens of Oakwood are being asked to pay more taxes to support our schools at a time when the city has a large surplus of funds - $23 million as of Sept. 30. Our city officials are wasting the taxpayers money on such things as: $2.75 million for roads and infrastructure at the former Sugar Camp property, now privately owned (parcels of which are for religious use and therefore tax-exempt); plus $300,000 on related changes to Oakwood Avenue; $2.3 million to acquire the Old River athletic fields, located adjacent to Sugar Camp; and over $1.1 million to purchase three pieces of residential property. Ironically, although the city has an abundance of funds, $4.25 million in notes have been issued, on which taxpayers must pay interest plus fees to bond salesmen.

This mismanagement of funds demonstrates malfeasance on the part of our city officials. The citizens of Oakwood have had no say in any of these decisions regarding our money.

High taxes are causing home buyers to look elsewhere and damaging our property values. Over 165 houses are on the market in Oakwood, more than twice the normal number, and many have been for sale for over a year.

Since state law does not allow the city to contribute any money to the schools, the city should give property owners tax rebates to offset the entire amount of any additional funds needed by the schools.

Faye M. Wenner
Oakwood

Dear Readers,

There is a candidate at whom we should all take a second look.  You may have seen Nancy Bain walking her two dogs in north Oakwood. She is a quiet and unassuming person yet, if you stop to talk, you will find her quite insightful and engaging. Nancy Bain is a person who stays abreast of the issues around her. She is thoughtful and sees the beauty of our community and would work to guard that quality.

I am reminded of a story of Nancy as she addressed a group. She was explaining her concern in the decline of honeybees.  She was explaining the necessity of bees, which provide billions of dollars worth of free services to our food supply. One attendee thought we could develop technology to take the place of bees. Why would we want spend to develop technology when we can simply conserve the natural
services the bees are already performing…for free?

Nancy Bain has been involved in our community.  She may have checked your address at the polls where she works on election day. You may have read one of her columns at one time she has written for the Dayton Daily News. Nancy is not one to fall in step with the others. She sees what is happening around her and then she forms her opinion.  She cares about the beauty of the flowers and the preservation of trees. Caring…? One of those dogs she walks is a rescue that was being mistreated. Nancy Bain is a person of caring as well as a person of action. Take another look at Nancy Bain for Oakwood City Council.

Steve W. Radcliffe
Oakwood

top of page

October 23, 2007
Volume 16, No. 43

front page
arts
schools
sports
editorial
'round town
people
events
obituaries