...look no further than New Albany schools here in New Albany, OH--home of Leslie Wexner (founder of the Limited, Victoria's Secret, and Bath & Body Works).

The public schools in this communty are unbelievable; they look like an Ivy league college.

And where most school systems are struggling and begging their landowners to pass paltry 2 to 5 million dollar levies; New Albany is asking its citizens to pass a whopping 20.26 million dollar property-tax levy.

If you have seen the houses in New Albany, you would have no doubt that this money could be raised.

Now, I am all for big money being spent wisely even if there is risk involved, but consider the system's justification for this cost:

[The money is] needed to address a projected enrollment increase of about 1,000 students by 2010, officials said. If voters approve the levy, it would cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $620 a year

In case you didn't believe your eyes, let's go over those numbers again:

• That's a $20.26 million dollar levy to acquire 1,000 new students in five years
  
• This equals $4,052,000 each year
  
• This equals $4,052 per student per year
  
• This equals $11.10 per new student per day for five years

Now, I have heard from credible sources within the community that there is a rampant problem with the high school children, as you could imagine would happen when you are the child of rich executives who work 70 hours a week and allow their children to be raised by nannies and country club staff. Too much money and too little direction has created social monsters who seek entertainment in drugs and other shenanigans, undermining the very stable social structure the community leaders are seeking to establish.

In other words, this is the perfect breeding ground for the next Eric Harris, Dylan Klebold, or Theodore Kaczyinksi--and the citizens are being asked to pay $11,101.37 per day for the next five years to fund this possible menace to society.

Now look, I'm a capitalist and I believe that success is generally earned but I also believe that inherited wealth can become a poison in the mind and spirit of those without direction or inspiration and I do not mean to stigmatize or generalize accusations on the characters of the young adults coming out of this communal institution of learning. But I am urging caution and I am saying very plainly that money alone does not a proper citizen make; and in my mind a 20.26 million dollar tax-levy to attract 1,000 new students is so far beyond ridiculous that I still find it incredible that they actually published their intentions behind this tax-payer request.

Les Wexner is one of my heroes; he has created an empire out of giving people exactly what they want and he himself has given back immeasurably to the community of Columbus, OH. But just because Les gives his money to this community does not mean that he can likewise infuse his morals and values into the children of the community.

I say, if you're wealthy enough, home school your kids and make sure that you are the ones providing the moral and spiritual influence in their lives. Otherwise, all the money in the world won't create a better one, it'll just look nicer on the outside while it rots from within.



TAGS: New Albany, Ohio, Leslie Wexner