Letters: Our pockets can’t handle wave caused by school vouchers

Our property taxes can't handle the wave caused by school vouchers

If you think your property taxes are going sky high now, just wait until universal private school voucher expansion hits exponential growth as predicted by Senate President Matt Huffman in the Dispatch article "1,000 applications a day: Ohio's new universal voucher program exceeds cost estimates" (Sept.13, 2023).

One billion in public tax dollars paying for private and religious school tuition will turn into 2 billion... 2 billion to 4 billion...4 billion to 16 billion and so on.

Opinion: Letters: Yost, DeWine and Gonidakis have no right to play daddy

More: 1,000 applications a day: Ohio's new universal voucher program exceeds cost estimates

Our precious property taxes cannot fully fund public, private, religious and charter schools; four separate systems of education in Ohio.

Our country was founded on the principle of separation of church and state. Ohio's constitution states that public tax dollars are for one system of common public schools only.

Local public-school districts, including Worthington, Columbus, Bexley, Westerville, Reynoldsburg, Gahanna Jefferson and South-Western City Schools are joining 250 public school districts in the Vouchers Hurt Ohio lawsuit against the state of Ohio.

Hundreds of Ohio public school districts are seeing the writing on the wall; the state paying billions of dollars a year for private school tuition will bankrupt local property taxpayers and bleed Ohio's public-school districts dry.

Barry Alcock, Groveport

Believing everybody cheats?

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro approved automatic voter registration in his state.

Why doesn't Ohio have automatic voter registration? I urge all Ohio citizens to call their state elected officials and ask that question.

Keep in mind, when you call, that many of these representatives are in office because of gerrymandering, which Ohio voted overwhelmingly to eliminate in 2015, and again in 2018.

More: LaRose: Radical teachers' unions wrong. Kids should not be forced to attend failing schools

Again, the question to ask is why doesn't Ohio have automatic voter registration?

If and when you get an answer, keep in mind why an Ohio government representative might be opposed to automatic voter registration. Could the lack of trust in the public be related to the old saying that "cheaters believe that everybody cheats?"

Mike Halaiko, Pickerington

Don't worry Jack

Re "Former zoo execs face 90-count felony indictment," Sept. 20: Tom Stalf, former president and CEO of the Columbus Zoo, Gregory Bell, ex-chief financial officer of the Zoo and Peter Fingerhut, former marketing Director of the Zoo were indicted on 89 felony counts of fraud.

For more that 10 years these three "extorted, conspired, bribed and stole over $2 million in public funds for their own benefits - money that belonged to a charitable organization," stated Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.

Thus, Jack Hanna's life's work to establish the Columbus Zoo as a world-class facility — recognized internationally —GONE.

At least for now.

Unbelievably, these thoughtless individuals had the audacity to not only violate the public trust but also smear the legacy that Jack Hanna created for his beloved Zoo and the Columbus community.

Letters: Jack Hanna's heartbreaking journey will shed light on disease that wreaks lives

Thankfully Jack will not know of the deception and the greed-driven and criminal behavior of these men.

Worry not, Jack, for we will restore the Columbus Zoo's good name. Count on it.

Ruth W. Johnson, Columbus

More: How to submit a letter to the editor for The Columbus Dispatch

I do not want to go to a nursing home

The Sept. 18 article, "Nursing homes struggling with staff shortages," was an informative piece of journalism.

I will be turning 84 next month and am very concerned and scared, as to what my very near future might be.

I do realize that I have options and have started informing my family, friends, etc. what I do not want; and I do not want to be admitted into a nursing home.

My major decision/choice is to commit suicide. When the time comes, I plan to sit out in the snow on a very cold bitter night in the nude.

I had three major careers in my life and the last one was managing a 383-bed nursing home. I do not want to have tubes placed inside my body.

I could go on, but your article carried the day.

Doug MacKechnie, Pataskala

The bedroom is for sleeping

Screens are keeping our kids from sleeping, so parents need to remove them from the bedroom.

This issue runs far deeper than kids staying up past bedtime to watch just one more episode or beat just one more level. Our bodies are trained to sleep when it is dark and be awake when it is light.

Studies have shown that bright lights from electronic screens, even from screens as small as a cell phone, literally affect the chemicals in the brain, causing a decrease in the naturally produced sleep hormone melatonin. Eight out of ten Ohio high school students are not getting sufficient sleep, and unsurprisingly nearly all U.S. adolescents report having at least one electronic device in their bedroom. Setting up our children for success includes ensuring they sleep.

The bedroom is for sleeping, not for gaming, watching or texting. Screens do not belong in the bedroom.

Dr. Mara Cohen, Columbus

Vote no to protect our innocent babies

This letter is in response to Emily Savors column on August 31. As a registered nurse for 31 years, I can tell you that you did not have an abortion. You had a miscarriage followed by a D and C. You even say in your column “remove the dead fetus."

An abortion is done when the fetus is alive. About 50% of women who have a fetus that dies in the uterus do not need to have a Dilation and curettage (D&C). Unfortunately, you needed to have a D&C because your provider believed that you would not expel the fetus on your own.

Worthington mother: An abortion saved my life and made the family I have now possible

I think it says a lot about a society that worships abortions so readily. According to the CDC, in 2020 there were 620,327 abortions reported.

This is absolutely heartbreaking and unnecessary.

This is not normal behavior. The answer to the increased mortality rates that you referenced in pregnant women is not to just have more abortions.

This does not solve the problem. Why do you feel it necessary to say that you had an abortion when it is simply not true. I will be voting no in November to protect our innocent babies and I urge you to vote no, too.

Judie Thompson, Delaware

People don't deserve handouts

My local cleaner is closing early for lack of workers.

My cute Grandview clothing shop Cub Shrub where I shop for my grandchild, is doing sporadic closing because they don’t have enough staff.

I think we don’t work because we suffer from post COVID laziness, and think the government is going to give us free money. Donald Trump sent us all a check and Joe Biden says we don’t have to pay our student loans.

That is the wrong message to send.

I prefer President Bill Clinton’s approach of workfare that the government is here to give you a helping hand not a handout.

Michael Oser, Columbus

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: EdChoice Ohio school voucher program is too expensive | letters