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Here is a map showing all the school districts in Franklin County:
Hilliard City Schools is the orange area on the left center of the map. The huge blue area at the lower left hand corner is Southwestern City Schools (Grove City). Here is a more detailed map of the Hilliard school district. Notice that all the residential streets appear on the right (eastern) half of the district. As you can see, the whole western half of the school district has few streets. This is Brown Township. If Brown Twp is developed at the density of the rest of the county, the number of kids in our schools could more than double. If that potential growth is not balanced with substantial commercial growth, our property taxes will skyrocket. At the very least, we need the Ohio Legislature to give us the tool of Impact Fees to make sure new expenses are primarily paid by new residents. Do you think it is fair to have to pay for schools to house new kids when you are already paying for the schools your kids attend? If you think we have a problem, look at a map of Southwestern City Schools, our neighbor immediately to the south:
In terms of students, Southwestern City Schools is already the sixth largest district in Ohio with a student population of nearly 21,000, and an operating budget in excess of $200 million. They house their students in 39 schools, including four high schools. They have suffered financial problems for several years because of their rapid growth, and from this map, it looks like they have development in well less than half of their district. However, their administration projects that their growth will be only 200 students per year through 2010. It is impressive that they have formed a financial planning committee chaired by Franklin County Treasurer Richard Cordray, and are recruiting members who are business leaders and financial experts. |
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