To the editor:

My reasons for voting “NO” on Troy School Levy:

The first reason is cost – annual additional taxes for an average family home in Troy will be over $700.00 a year for 37 years – that equates to $25,900.00 total. Retirees, fixed income households, and households with no children should not have to bear this burden. Even people that rent housing in Troy will feel the pain as the property owners will simply raise the rent to cover the addition cost.

Second reason is the planned demolition of Van Cleve, Concord, Heywood, and Kyle Schools. Nothing in the School Board’s Plan to consider reuse – just knock them down. Have you seen the cracker box housing being built between Rt 718 and McKaig Avenue? They look like the World War 1 barracks I stayed in during boot camp. West Milton, Piqua, Urbana, and other local towns repurposed some of their old schools for senior housing, low-income apartments, etc. I have to believe that would make more sense (and money) then just tearing them down.

Finally, if the unused buildings were razed, there is a good chance the City of Troy would ultimately get control of the land. Do the Citizens of Troy want that considering the bang-up job the city has done downtown in the past four years?

Again, I urge everyone to vote “NO” on the Troy School Levy November 7th.

Martin Stewart

Troy