Youngstown schools lose some students unnecessarily

Youngstown schools lose some students unnecessarily
EDITOR:
I am a firm believer in supporting the schools, however this new levy is ridiculous. It's a tiny fraction of what the schools have lost in state funding due to dropping enrollment. It's not enough to save our schools. Enrollment is still falling at an alarming rate and the funds from the levy will vanish before they can do any good unless the flow of students out of the district can be stopped.
Last year, a group of parents went to the superintendent and board of education to tell them we wanted our children to stay in the district. We believed Youngstown City Schools offered the best programs and education we could get for our children, but we didn't want our children to attend the gender-specific middle schools. We suggested a plan to expand Paul C. Bunn to be K-8, with K-4 on one side and 5-8 on the other, with shared spaces in the middle, saving money on both construction and operation and allowing our children to remain in a school where they were happy and receiving the best education possible.
We met with Wendy Webb and her chosen advisors from the board, only to be told we had to wait until this year to attempt to get the plan to succeed, which meant waiting until the new plans for the building were already drafted and approved by the state. Basically, we were told & quot;No. & quot; We were later informed in a meeting at the school that the children from Bunn would attend the gender schools. More parents took their children out of the district, and still the gender schools remain Dr. Webb's pet project.
Replacing Dr. Webb this August when her contract expires and getting a superintendent who is willing to genuinely consider parental input can save our schools. We can't afford to lose more students because of her refusal to accept the simple fact that gender schools are not the answer. Unless there are options other than the gender schools inside the district, parents will continue to choose the option of taking their children out of the district and the enrollment will continue to drop. This levy will not help. Only keeping enrollment numbers up can save the district from ruin.
JENNIFER LEWIS
Youngstown
Read fine print before voting on state issues
EDITOR:
On Oct. 16, The Vindicator printed 10 full pages on all of the voting issues. I would like to encourage everybody to take the time to read the "fine print" about Issue 3. There is a wealth of important information to be learned.
It stated that "all students will be eligible to earn these scholarships, which would be funded from the proceeds of expanded gambling." This is not true.
If Issue 3 is passed, Learn and Earn Scholarship accounts will be awarded only to the top 5 percent of students at each accredited public and non-public high school. Such tuition grants shall be based solely on academic merit, not onthe basis of need. Individual learn and earn scholarship accounts for current and future students who, prior to enrolling in college, take core and advanced academic courses, participate in college readiness programs, assessment, and testing at any accredited public or non-public high school in this state and contribute to public life through voluntary civic activity.
What about the other 95 percent of high school students who need funding? The top 5 percent have advantages already in place, it is the other 95 percent that struggle for money to go to college. This Issue 3 program is very lopsided and is a long way from benefiting ALL students. The Vindicator has a program where the newspapers are given to and read by the students in the classroom, I hope they read this letter and think about the lack of fairness and balance proposed by Issue 3.
The deceptive commercials exaggerate the truth and facts, Issue 3 is not the answer to money for our children's education.
KATY HAMMER
Youngstown