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Dave Larsen writes about higher education.Home > Blogs > On Campus > Archives > 2008 > February > 21 > Entry
Sinclair’s many, many friends
(Sinclair’s President, Steven Lee Johnson, talks to Miami Valley Hospital CEO Mary Boosalis and Montgomery County Commissioner Dan Foley, who both endorse the levy. Dayton Daily News photo)
Sinclair Community College, which has a 3.2 mill levy request on the March 4 ballot, is running a fairly expensive campaign to convince people to support it. Good thing then they seem to have plenty of friends with deep pockets.
Citizens for Sinclair, the political action committee facilitating the campaign, has garnered a whopping $794,183. It’s spent $463,799, most of it on television and radio advertising in the last two months, which so far has cost $324,044. Another $40,644 paid Akron-based Cromwell & Company for mailers, which you Montgomery County residents have probably pulled out of the mailbox this week.
It is the largest and most expensive local campaign of the primary election, according to pre-primary campaign finance reports filed today, Feb. 21. It’s comparable to the November election’s Montgomery County Human Services Levy, whose levy committee raised $718,711 during its campaign. It spent slightly more than that convincing voters to approve a 7.21 mill property tax levy, which passed.
Sinclair’s levy request is the only county-wide issue for Montgomery County on the March 4 ballot.
Between Jan. 1 2007, and Feb. 19, Citizens has raised the $794,183 and spent $463,799, most of it in the last two months, on broadcast media buys through ad agency Penny, Ohlmann, Neiman Inc. Other expenses include a phone survey, yard signage and $38,675 for political consultants.
Citizens for Sinclair still has $338,363 in the bank.
Keep reading to see who donated.
A big chunk of the campaign funds came from Sinclair’s foundation, which has an endowment of about $28.5 million and gave the campaign $321,647.
Other big donors came from the area’s health care industry. Premier Health Partners gave $50,000 (one of Sinclair’s trustees, Mary Boosalis, is CEO of Miami Valley Hospital, owned by Premier); Kettering Health Network donated $30,000; and the Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association gave $20,000.
The largest individual donor was Clayton Mathile, at $50,000. The executive director of the Mathile Family Foundation, Gregory Edwards, is also a Sinclair trustee.
Some major employers were also big contributors. Dayton Power & Light gave $20,000. Miller Valentine Group, Dayton Daily News, Fifth-Third Bank and National City Bank each gave $10,000. Then there are a smattering of others at the $5,000 level.
Sinclair’s trustees have also contributed: Allen Hill, at $2,000, was at the top of the pile.
Basically, business seems to support Sinclair because it helps them with workforce development (at least that’s what Mary Boosalis said at the campaign’s kick-off, referring to the area nursing shortage). And plenty of politicos and government jurisdictions have endorsed it. And Sinclair officials have been working hard to drum up support and endorsements - reporters at DDN were telling me today they’ve heard a presentation on Sinclair’s levy twice or three times either from the school’s president, Steven Lee Johnson, or other officials, at various meetings they’ve covered. Johnson, in an interview today, looked pretty exhausted.
There appears to be no organized opposition. Except for one anti-tax voter, Boris Terzieff of Kettering, who called me the other day to say that Sinclair is monolithic, adding “the bigger they get the more they want.” “A group of 20 or 30 of us” had organized to oppose the levy, he said, “because of economic circumstances.” Sounds pretty scattershot to me.
Sinclair has blanketed Montgomery County with ad dollars and requests for endorsements, and it’s paid off with many many friends. Let’s see if that carries over into the polls on March 4.
Permalink | Comments (16) | Categories: Sinclair Community College
Comments
By David Esrati
February 21, 2008 9:27 PM | Link to this
There may be no “organized opposition” but there are informed voters who look at the $120 million in the bank, a balance sheet that is debt free- and the expensive expansion into Warren County- that isn’t being funded by a Warren County levy. Top that- with tax increases, school levies, and falling property values- high interest rates on credit card debt- and Sinclair may loose this one. Sinclair needs to learn to live within it’s budget- and it’s tax district before asking for an increase.By Mary
February 21, 2008 11:06 PM | Link to this
We got a mailer, and do not even live in Montgomery County. Have they already spent more on the campaign than they are asking from the voters?By Stephanie Gottschlich
February 22, 2008 11:26 AM | Link to this
For those of you interested in Sinclair’s financial position, I’ll have a story in Sunday’s DDN about it as a walk-up to the levy. Lots of readers have called wanting the straight dope on Sinclair’s financial health. The point is to present people with as much info abotu Sinclair to make an informed voting decision. So look for that in the paper, online - and I’ll also post a link to the story here, and some comments.By J
February 22, 2008 4:14 PM | Link to this
My question is this: Why, after I have paid for a good portion of the Sinclair students K-12 education through my tax dollars, should I have to ante up more to help pay for their college educations as well???? I have two children of my own to get through college. My husband and I both worked our butts off to put ourselves through college, and we both went to schools that cost a heck of a lot more than Sinclair does!!By Hugh
February 22, 2008 4:48 PM | Link to this
I do support SCC, but I really don’t understand why Montgomery County voters are paying the bill for Warren County facilities.By Kim
February 22, 2008 10:21 PM | Link to this
Sinclair Community College – Montgomery County’s greatest asset. Vote YES — You deserve it! Education is about exploration – even at age 50! I attended Sinclair last fall, and finally tried AutoCAD. I updated my supervision skills, and learned about whole brain creativity. The tuition for three classes cost only $270 ! ! ! I was surrounded by learners ages 18 to 60. Compare the Sinclair price tag for an 11-week long class (and computer labs that are open seven days a week) with the prices of classes at any area college or private enterprise. I started attending Sinclair in 1981 and can still afford to attend classes whenever I am curious. I chose to return to school full time at age 47, and earned an A.A. in 2006. In the 1970’s, a BFA from Wright State cost my family $16,000 for tuition, books, room & board —TOTAL, not per semester. Thanks go to Montgomery County voters who are wise enough to support Sinclair Community College. Sinclair uses our tax dollars wisely when hiring faculty and staff. There are numerous adjunct faculty members on campus. You can even learn from part-time faculty who make a living in the very field you are studying! I have learned from dozens of quality educators who seek to share their passions and their skills with students ages 17 to 77 (and up) ! The campaign planners concentrated on the benefits to the student under age 22. Oops! If you have not been to Sinclair in the last 10 years, drop in for a visit. Go to the media center (library) and try an interesting program you’ve never seen before. Areas of networked computers are available for the taxpayers to use – yes, open to the public! Then audit a class to satisfy your “personal interest”. Try a course in photography, culinary arts, world events, drafting, physics, literature, or singing! Be a joyful life-long learner, with students across generations! Education is a privilege and an honor. Local voters have long prized education. Visit Sinclair Community College and appreciate what your YES vote sustains! Thanks for your time and your support. February 22, 2008 K. Koehler, Life long learner – I’m voting YES for Sinclair Community College!By Oldprof
February 22, 2008 11:40 PM | Link to this
As a friend/colleague of several Sinclair faculty—and as one who moonlighted there several years ago—I find myself thinking that they need to make a compelling case for why they are seeking such a tangible increase, or this levy may be in trouble. If someone as sympathetic as myself is not yet decided, what will the anti-tax crowd be thinking?By J
February 23, 2008 4:03 PM | Link to this
Hey Kim, I think it is wonderful that you returned to school and used Sinclair as an inexpensive way to do so. However, please offer me a VALID reason as to why I should have to pay for YOUR education?? Why should I, after putting myself through college, have to ante up my hard-earned money to put people through school who could go and get a job of their own to do so?! My taxes are high enough as it is… I have two children for whom I am saving to send to school. Why should I use that money to pay for someone else’s education?By Hugh
February 23, 2008 8:03 PM | Link to this
Because…you are part of a society? I’m sure I pay taxes for things that benefit you more than I.By Oldprof
February 24, 2008 8:34 PM | Link to this
DDN today notes that Sinclair’s administration is considering cutting back on full-time faculty. Currently over 60% of the credit hours at Sinclair are taught by FT faculty; the goal is to reduce it to 50%. This is wrong-headed. Ohio standards call for at least 60% of hours in every program to be taught by FT faculty. Research has shown that FT faculty ratios correlate with student retention and graduation rates. It seems to me that the Sinclair board of trustees is operating on a flawed business model, and I do not intend to support a move toward mediocrity with an increase in my tax rates.By David Esrati
February 26, 2008 11:43 PM | Link to this
Of course Miami Valley Hospital supports Sinclair- since they don’t pay property taxes. How about we change that policy- and see what happens? Sinclair will get my vote once they either pull out of Warren County- or get a levy passed there. Until then, I’m voting no- even though I support Sinclair 100% It’s called accountability- and after paying for a relationship for years- I don’t like it when my dear friend goes and has a dalliance with another county that hasn’t made the same investment.By Concerned Taxpayer
February 28, 2008 4:13 PM | Link to this
The current levy generates about $24 million a year. The new levy is supposed to generate about $31 million a year. That is a difference of $7 million. Spread that out over approximately 24,000 sinclair students each taking say 24 credit hours a year (conservative?) works out to be a $12/credit hour increase. Is this unreasonable? I don’t think so! Cheap education isn’t a right or an entitlement. Tax payers shouldn’t have to subsidize tuition.By From the Know
March 4, 2008 9:53 PM | Link to this
Sinclair cannot just raise tuition - the state caps how much they can raise the tuition each year and therefore need other funding sources. The state has reduced funding to the college every year for the past several years Montgomery County is NOT footing the bill for Warren County. Montgomery County residents currently pay $45/credit hour vs. $73.50/credit hour for Warren County residents. Sinclair has not asked Warren County for a levy YET because they do not have a substantial presence in Warren County or the trust of the tax payers like they have in Montgomery County. Sinclair has undergone an intensive reorganization over the past several years to cut costs. Many positions have been cut and employee benefits have shrunk. I agree with the people who think that they shouldn’t have to foot the bill for anyone elses education. In my ideal society all education would be private. We don’t live in that society and there is no denying that Sinclair is an excellent steward of the tax payers money.By Karen
March 29, 2008 4:46 PM | Link to this
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March 29, 2008 4:46 PM | Link to this
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