NAACP to Columbus schools: Sell vacant buildings. Don't try to balance budget on our backs
Columbus schools should sell prime real estate
Re "Five seeking seats on city school board," Sept. 25: Columbus Board of Education President Jennifer Adair reportedly told the dispatch that East High School only had a graduating senior class of 33 students last year. (Editor's note: The online version of the article was updated to read: "East High School only has a small graduating class students last year, with 45 students in the 12th grade.")
Adair also stated, “many of the district’s high schools are one-third or one-fourth the size of high schools in other area public school districts.”
We suggest the following for Columbus Board of Education:
Sell the 10 or more vacant or underutilized school buildings.
Sell the Columbus City Schools building a 270 E. State Street – prime real estate.
Stop trying to balance your finances on the back of Columbus community, senior citizens in particular.
Remove the levy from the ballot until you communicate with the community.
Nana M. Watson, president, Columbus Branch NAACP
Get with it America!
How many of us are sickened by these self-serving Republican dog and pony shows?
No one listens, everyone talks over one another, and the moderators have no control whatsoever. In the face of all these agendas and personal resumes being shouted out, has anyone given any facetime to the real issues confronting the American people?
What about childcare?
What about substantial financial assistance to those families having individuals suffering from dementia or Alzheimer's? Or cancer?
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Why must families or individuals faced with these situations and others exhaust lifetime savings or even sell their homes just to continue gracing the always outstretched hands of those calling themselves "Caregivers"? Is this how the richest country in the world treats it citizens? Or are we more concerned with proper Congressional dress codes?
Get with it America!
Gary L. Sieg, Columbus
Tell them to do their jobs
We are facing yet another government shutdown. Things were hard for many families even before this because the Child Tax Credit was not continued at the end of 2021 causing families to struggle to make ends meet. The credit was long thought to be a game changer when it came to lowering child poverty. Recently released U.S. Census data confirmed what we already knew.
In 2021, when the credit was expanded in response to the pandemic, child poverty went down 46% and 2.9 million children were lifted out of poverty. That meant fewer empty stomachs and more kids getting their basic needs met.
More: Live updates: Is a government shutdown going to happen? How does it affect you? What to know
Now the 2022 Census data confirms that child poverty nearly doubled in 2022. It went from 5.2% to 12.4% nationally. In Ohio it stands at 18.6% but in Franklin County 21.3% of our children are living in poverty. That means more than one in five children right here are suffering.
To make matters worse, Congress's threat to shut the government down will immediately slash the Women Infant and Children Program (WIC) which 7 million women and children depend upon for nutrition. In addition, childcare funding is about to be cut which will cause many childcare centers to close, raise tuition and lay off staff.
What's going on? Is Congress deliberately trying to make things impossible for families? It's time to stop playing this cruel game and run the government like it was meant to run, for the people.
Tell your U.S. Representatives to do their job and come to an agreement so the government doesn't shut down. And tell them to support the CTC for the poorest families. These antics will have serious consequences.
Virginia Vogts, Columbus
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus schools has prime real estate. Sell it before asking for levy
