Dear Editor,
I only have knowledge of the stadium project from what I’ve been reading in the Marysville Journal-Tribune. At first, from what I thought I read in the J-T, I was under the impression that the stadium would only cost $1 million and all that money was going to be raised by private donations. Now I read that the stadium was going to cost in excess of $7 million. I was floored.
This is not fair to tax payers that the Marysville School District spend this much money on a high school football stadium. I mean, my gosh, really? When I played high school football, the gym teacher was the coach and we would play on a grass field with temporary bleachers that would roll up to the sidelines.
The school district needs to be more transparent with all costs associated with the stadium. In fact, an expenditure this large should be put before voters on a ballot for vote. The district seems to be in a hurry with this project, too. Why is there such a hurry to get this rolling?
Even after the stadium is built, upkeep and utilities will cost plenty. Why are we spending this much money? Will the stadium be used year round? It should be, considering this amount of cost. We should always utilize the school buildings and proposed stadiums to the max. Why is the decision to build such a costly item in the hands of so few? Why?
The school district is funded by hard working citizen tax dollars, such as mine and yours. Why not build a stadium for $3 million? Try not having the best of the best. Are we competing against Dublin and Hilliard schools? Put the remaining $5 million toward educating our children for the future.
Just look at Hilliard and Dublin school taxes for citizens. The higher taxes in these two cities are exactly why Marysville has become a boom town. Lots of people are escaping the higher tax rates of these two communities and fleeing to Marysville. Are we now going down that same path? Are we trying to compete against Dublin and Hilliard? Are we making the Marysville district larger and stronger and eventually more expensive for taxpayers? Ah, yes.
Finally, a Nov. 16 article in the J-T praised the committee for their hard work to get the stadium project to where it is at now. The article also makes it seem urgent for the stadium to move forward quickly, as suggestions of money shifted around from different accounts like a shell game.
It’s funny how everyone is shocked and can’t understand why tax levies fail sometimes. Hmmmmm, think about that 8 million times.
Dan D’Andra
Royal Oak Drive