'New' board members in Brookfield miss the point

'New' board members in Brookfield miss the point
EDITOR:
"S.O.S. is a small vocal group, the majority of whom are teachers unhappy about being laid off or having to take wage cuts." After reading comments from three of the new Brookfield Board of Education members in the Sunday newspapers, I am not sure they get it.
The S.O.S. core committee is made up of 10 or so parents and community members with one teacher. If any of the three new board members would have accepted their invitations to speak on Saturday to voice their opinions, they would have seen that out of the 300 people, there were about 15 teachers present. Whether we have different opinions or not, we should all have an opportunity to be heard.
Based on what I have read just recently, I have a sense that the new board members believe that the majority of the Brookfield community supports their decisions and the way they do business. S.O.S. and most of the 300 community members who attended the town meeting on Saturday believe differently.
We all are aware of the financial woes of the district because many of us worked to pass school levies. The three new board members don't get a pass when it comes to the finances they say they inherited, especially the board president. We all remember who campaigned against the district leadership when they were trying to get a 4-mill operating levy passed to avoid financial hardship. Please, let's not forget the signs. "Vote No until They Get Rid of Joe!" Because of this negative campaign the financial woes of the district continued and increased.
The cuts they have made and will continue to make are occurring because of a deficit that grew because of our current board president's position on school levies. It is very convenient to now blame the state or the previous leadership for the cuts taking place. We know better.
TIM FILIPOVICH
Brookfield
Forum Health board risesto challenge of turnaround
EDITOR:
As chairman of Forum Health's Board of Trustees, I can personally attest to the challenge of our turnaround process and the difficulty of the change and choices we face.
At the same time and with the help of some of the best minds in the hospital business, we are seeking solutions that will preserve and enhance health services in this community, when to do nothing would ensure failure.
Our recent announcement that Tod Children's Hospital would be joining forces with Akron Children's Hospital and Humility of Mary St. Elizabeth Medical Center is one noteworthy example.
The generous contributions of the Tod family and the many donors who have supported our pediatric programs have helped make excellent medical care available to Mahoning Valley children since 1972.
By combining our resources and medical expertise with the other leading providers in the region, Forum and our partners now have the opportunity to create a world-class pediatric health care institution that can attract top specialists and serve our children and their families for years to come.
For too long we competed against each other in providing pediatric acute care when it simply makes more sense to cooperate. Alone, Tod was losing money and we weren't able to make the investments in technology, improvements in facilities or retain the physicians the children of this community deserve.
Now, as we work toward a final agreement between the parties, we together share the goal of creating a superior facility that provides care to all, including those less able to pay. I am confident that the Tod commitment to quality care will continue as we build toward a new future.
Forum is fortunate to have the skilled leadership of Dr. Keith Ghezzi and his management team as we confront our financial and operating challenges and make the changes necessary to preserve health care jobs and essential services in this community.
THOMAS R. HOLLERN
Canfield
Tod closing raises questions for its namesake family
EDITOR:
My family and I have been involved with Tod Children's Hospital since its inception. The Tod family is dismayed at the instability and apparent lack of planning that appears to be prevalent at Forum Health. We agree with your Feb. 11 editorial.
It was only last summer that members of the Tod family were asked to cut the ribbon at the opening of the "new" Tod Children's Hospital Wing at Forum's North Side Medical Center. Several months later (and after another apparent successful fund-raising campaign), we now learn that the services that had been provided through Tod Children's Hospital will be consolidated with HM Health Partners and Akron Children's Hospital.
We are concerned about the state of pediatric care within the community at large, but especially within the city of Youngstown. We are equally concerned about what will happen to the money that had been raised over the years in the name of Tod Children's Hospital and whether those funds will be restricted to further pediatric medical care within the Youngstown area.
We are also concerned about what will happen to the employees who have dedicated their careers to making life better for those children who required the services of Tod Children's Hospital from other pediatric health care facilities and lastly we are concerned about what will happen to the city of Youngstown if the Forum Health North Side Medical Center is ultimately closed.
Decisions of this magnitude should not be made in a vacuum by engaged consultants who have no history nor investment in the community. Where is the accountability? The silence from the trustees of Forum Health is deafening.
We have shared our concerns with representatives of Akron Children's Hospital and have agreed to meet with them to learn more about their plans for pediatric medical care within the City of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley. Hopefully some of our concerns will be addressed.
SALLIE TOD DUTTON
Youngstown
Border open on both sides
EDITOR:
I hate to spoil the plan of the writer of a letter last Sunday to bankrupt Ohio by taking his dart team and their tax dollars to Pennsylvania, where they can smoke. But for every Ohioan who comes into Pennsylvania to spend their money in establishments that allow smoking, there are many more of us Pennsylvanians flocking to Ohio to spend our money in places where we can finally eat, drink, and enjoy entertainment and activities in a pleasant, healthy, smoke-free environment.
KAREN WILSON
Edinburg, Pa.
Now isn't the time to build a new school in Girard
EDITOR:
An article in The Vindicator discussing the plans to put a new school on the ballot in Girard was just amazing to me. The entire area is under tremendous uncertainty of employment, with Lordstown planning a short run of Cobalt, Packard's downsizing and medical facilities are terminating positions. The amount of the tax burden per household is even larger than the original proposal. If there is land available for developing, we need more of a taxable base, not more expense. How can the city bring in additional tax dollars if new housing development is prevented?
I have always felt that the most important element of the education system was the teaching quality, not a structure. We also have options that have not been publicized. If the 13 acres of land currently owned by the school system has been determined to be insufficient in size for a new structure, sell it to the highest bidder to raise cash. Approach the current residents bordering both sides of the current high school and offer a premium price for their properties. Funding for renovation of school properties is available, therefore, the whole project has got to be positive for Girard, the students and housing issues.
We need to encourage development of our community, not stymie it, and with expansion the tax base will increase naturally. We're sitting on a potential revenue generator at the lakes and it's doing what? Do you think a water-front restaurant, a golf course, a camping area with boating and also expand the water front housing potential, would that generate revenue, employment and taxes?
I do not see how we can justify an additional tax burden on the citizens of Girard. Regardless of proposed location, we do not have an abundance of land to improperly use when a creative solution would prove a suitable and an economical approach.
RON WILLIAMS
Girard