‘Community full of
      heroes who made very personal sacrifice when
      the economic climate seemed impossibly overwhelming’
      Letter to the Editor
      Boardman News
      November 6, 2012
      To the community:
      In his book, Hugs for Heroes, by Dr. Larry Keefauver, there is the following message about life’s heroes:
      “In life’s endless struggles, victims complain and resent the burdens they must carry. Heroes, on the other hand, find the strength not only to carry their own burdens, but also to pick up the load that is crushing someone else and carry it cheerfully. What enables a hero to carry another’s burden even when that load may seem impossibly overwhelming? Heroes discover that when they give of themselves to lift someone’s burden, their own weariness melts away and their strength is multiplied to accomplish the extraordinary.”
      I chose this passage as the opening to my thank you letter to the community because I want everyone to reflect upon the awesome sacrifice that our voters made on Nov. 6 for the school district and community – the passage of the 3.9 mill emergency levy is undoubtedly the most significant event impacting the school district in the past nine years.
      I truly believe that this community is full of “heroes” who made a very large personal sacrifice when the economic climate of our community seemed “impossibly overwhelming” in terms of financial stability. In this day of high fuel costs, increases in health care, the erosion of our local industrial base, and the general feeling that the state of Ohio has failed its public schools, it would have been very easy to view these “burdens” as too heavy to carry. Our community, although so supportive in the past, could have simply said that at this particular time, enough is enough. Although that would have been the easy choice and one that could have had a rational argument of defense, our voters “accomplished the extraordinary!” We, in the Boardman Schools truly cherish this sacrifice and will continue our diligent work to use this gracious revenue infusion wisely. We will continue to seek input from our constituencies as we develop educational programs that are efficient and focused on child safety and student needs. To that end, we will also continue to scrutinize all phases of district operation in such a way as to be “business wise.”
      The community’s “yes” vote was a vote for sustaining the quality of life that has separated Boardman as one of the top school districts in the state of Ohio, as well as one of the best places to live in the Mahoning Valley!
      The community has strengthened itself on so many fronts with the passage of this emergency levy. Our “strength has multiplied!”
      On behalf of the teachers, staff, administration and our Board of Education, I thank the residents of Boardman for being “our heroes” and salute this great community with a collective hug!
      Sincerely,
      Frank Lazzeri
      Superintendent
      Boardman Local School District