Voters to see 5-mill levy on the ballot for third time in past year

by Laura Bednar

Jan. 28 board of education special meeting

The Nordonia Hills Board of Education held a special meeting to place a levy on the May 6 ballot. After board members discussed the issue and heard from community members, they voted 4-1 to add a 5-mill continuous operating levy to the ballot. Board members Liz McKinley, Jason Tidmore, Chad Lahrmer and Amy Vajdich voted in favor and Matt Kearney voted against.

A total of 13 people spoke during the open forum section of the meeting, all of whom commented on the levy in some way. The three levy scenarios up for a vote were an 8-year emergency levy that would generate $7.3 million per year, a 5-mill operating levy, and a 5-mill operating levy with 4.5 mills for operation and .5 mills for permanent improvements.

Before voting, Tidmore said the decision is ultimately in the hands of the community and the board’s work doesn’t end with sending a levy to the ballot.

Vajdich said the district must make the money from a passed levy stretch and prove to the community that they can make it last.

McKinley said balancing district finances requires a levy, as well as cuts and staff attrition. She said an operating levy offers flexibility because other expenses can be paid from the general fund.

Kearney said it is frustrating to him that all three options were what has been presented to the community twice before. 

“My actions on the board follow the majority of this community, which has twice said they can’t afford the 5 mills,” he said. “We need to come up with a solution that will pass in our community and folks can afford.”

Open forum

School parent David Sterling supported a continuous operating levy because “you will lose the best people if you cut opportunities and make [teachers] do more with less.”

Karen Byers, member of several Nordonia school and community groups, also supported a continuous operating levy. She noted that there have been 46 attempts to pass a levy in the district since 1977 and of those, only 12 passed.

Dawn Sedor, school parent, said a continuous levy is needed because “funding uncertainty hurts the district’s ability to attract teachers in the middle of a national teacher shortage.”

Community member Ginny Aubel said, “We won’t get anybody new in this community if we don’t keep a strong school system.”

Doug Masteller, school parent and former school board member, said it is a challenge to fight misinformation on levies that comes from a vocal group of residents in the community that dominate the conversation. 

“Unless the state addresses funding issues down the road that they’ve ignored for 30 years, it’s not going to alleviate the need for incremental money on the ballot,” he said.

School parent Sean Miles said the school board has a responsibility to make the district a place where kids and their families want to be and it’s the community’s responsibility to fund schools. He urged the board to “come up with a plan that everyone can vote on” and feel comfortable supporting.

Community member Ken Chase said, “There is an unwillingness on both sides of our community to hear one another speak and hear what it is they’re feeling or wanting.”

School parent Andy Jalwan echoed this idea, stating, “The current divisiveness that seems apparent on the school board is a signal to the community that chaos and disarray exists in the ranks at a decision-making level and as a result is enabling division among voters.”

He continued by asking the board to create a united front, find common ground and build bridges.

Reduction committee reports

Superintendent Casey Wright said the district created reduction committees to examine potential cuts or changes to save money. The committees included staff members, board member and community members.

The transportation committee, led by Business Director Steve Marlow, reviewed potentially eliminating the high school bus routes and reducing the number of hours for half of the remaining routes. By law, Marlow said the district is not required to bus high school students or those that live within a 2-mile radius of the school. The route changes would save the district $173,988 but would also cost it between $70,000-80,000 in state funding.

Marlow also heads the facilities committee, and said they are exploring consolidation of school buildings, which could result in space constraints but also savings due to staff reductions.

Middle school Principal Brian Seward heads the middle school committee, which discussed transitioning the school into a 7th- and 8th-grade junior high model. That could increase class size, decrease elective choices and affect academic choices. The savings would be $880,000 per year with the new model depending on staff reductions. In addition to schedule changes for students, staff could teach more classes per day and the model would affect teacher planning periods.

High school Principal Louise Terringo said the high school committee is reviewing student course request sheets to determine the popularity of electives and AP courses. She noted that enrollment is projected to fall, which could mean a decrease in need for teachers.

Treasurer Kyle Kiffer presented the budget efficiencies committee findings. He said the school board voted on a severance employee plan, which will provide substantial savings to the district based on the number of staff who take it. 

One budget suggestion was conducting an in-house audit of special education expenditures mandated by state and federal regulations.Another suggestion was creating an athletic, band and arts committee to review program reductions. Currently, athletics costs $1.2 million each year. An increase in pay-to-participate fees was discussed. The committee determined it would be best to continue field trips and continue the partnership with the Educational Service Center to offer preschool, as it provides financial and operational efficiency.