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District hasn't passed new levy in 16 years
By John Higgins
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Wednesday, Sep 03, 2008
The Northwest School District's new superintendent is warning residents of the mostly Stark County district that if they don't pass a 12.8-mill operating levy in November, they might lose control of their own schools.
Superintendent William Stetler and treasurer Dan Levengood met Friday morning with state officials to talk about the district's slide into ''fiscal caution'' — the first stage of a process that could lead to state control of local finances.
The state informed the administration on July 3 that because the district ended the last fiscal year with a $1.1 million deficit and faces the possibility of future deficits, the state auditor was placing Northwest in caution.
The district has until Sunday to submit a plan to get back into the black by 2010 or risk slipping into fiscal watch or possibly fiscal emergency.
The only area district in fiscal emergency is Springfield, which this summer had to close an elementary school building to satisfy the state commission overseeing its finances.
Northwest isn't at that point yet,
but a newsletter mailed to residents in the district blares the headline: ''State Takeover Looms.''
The district hasn't passed an operating levy for new taxes in 16 years. Voters have turned down the last six levy requests, plus an attempt at a district income tax.
Stetler said that the newsletter headline understates the problem.
''The state's telling us how to run our finances. Right now they give us suggestions — the next step is mandates,'' said Stetler, who replaced longtime superintendent Dennis Lambes, who retired this summer.
''They're here in full force,'' he said of officials from the Ohio Department of Education and the state auditor's office. ''We're not on the brink of disaster. We are a disaster.''
Projected deficit
Unlike Northwest, Springfield did not end the fiscal year in a deficit. But Springfield's carryover was so slim that the district could not absorb a projected $510,000 deficit this school year resulting from an unanticipated drop in local property-tax revenue.
With the approval of the state commission, Springfield closed Lakemore Elementary School just before school started this year.
That decision angered Lakemore village residents, who wanted the district to try another levy.
But the state commission chairman made it plain to Springfield school district officials that he didn't think that was a good idea. Springfield voters had turned down a school levy in August 2007 — the fifth such defeat in two years.
Stetler worries that Northwest is heading down the same road.
''We're worse off than Springfield,'' he said. ''Financially, we're in a bigger, more dire state than Springfield.''
The state is in the midst of a performance audit, but Stetler said he was told Friday that Northwest already is close to Ohio's minimum standards in such areas as the ratio of teachers to students, and much deeper cuts there would jeopardize state funding.
''If we go any lower, you lose your state aid,'' the superintendent said. ''It's as simple as that. You can't get any more blood out of that turnip.''
Northwest cut $1.5 million from its $18 million budget last year and an additional $2 million since 2005. Overall, it has reduced expenses since 2005 by 6.5 percent, Levengood said.
If the 12.8-mill levy does not pass in November, he said, the district will have to cut between $850,000 and $1 million in order to be solvent by the end of the 2009-2010 school year and avoid further state involvement.
Cuts have already resulted in crowded classrooms, the elimination of busing for high school students and pay-to-participate fees.
The district faces a revenue problem, because it hasn't received new operating funds since 1992, Stetler said.
Here's the problem. One mill costs a property owner $1 for every $1,000 of assessed value each year. State law adjusts tax rates so that when property values go up, districts do not get more money than what voters approved.
Those adjustments result in ''effective millage,'' which typically declines over time as property values rise. A district must return to the voters for a new levy to capture current property values.
What owner pays
Currently, the owner of a $150,000 home in the Northwest district pays almost $1,500 a year in school taxes. If the levy passes in November, that bill would go up about $588 a year.
School districts get money from the state as well, but Stetler is not looking for Ohio to boost its share.
''Right now Northwest is already getting 56 percent of its funds from the state,'' he said. ''The state is doing its part. We haven't passed anything locally in 16 years.''
In the 2006-2007 school year, Northwest raised almost $3,000 in local taxes for each student — about $560 less than similar districts, according to the Ohio Department of Education.
''You can't move anywhere in Ohio and get it cheaper,'' Stetler said.
John Higgins can be reached at 330-996-3792 or jhiggins@thebeaconjournal.com.
The Northwest School District's new superintendent is warning residents of the mostly Stark County district that if they don't pass a 12.8-mill operating levy in November, they might lose control of their own schools.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Posted 02:36 PM, 09/05/2008
If anyone wants to reads the real story about the Levy issues, please see the www.yesnw.org
Posted 07:11 PM, 10/16/2008
got to pay your way!!
Posted 08:35 PM, 10/20/2008
I have read the story at www.yesnw.org and glad I did. There is much there that I feel is not necessary. The main items I am opposed to are the new school buses, doing away with pay-to participate and having the schools open after the school day is over. Here are my reasons for voting this levy down. New school buses? After so much money was wasted on the new bus garage, additional money for new buses is uncalled for. When I attended public high school in another state, my parents paid a fee for me to have bus service...this should be enforced here as well. If parents want their children to participate in sports, then they should open their wallets and pay for it. Once the school day is over, the schools should be closed until the beginning of the next school day. What do the schools consider to be a "packed" classroom? We had 30 children per classroom and we weren't considered overcrowded. Perhaps the time has come for a mandatory "tuition" of sorts. If not, there has to be a more fair way to fund schools than through property taxes. How can anyone think it fair that a family with 5 children who rent an apartment pays literally nothing in property taxes whereas a couple with no children who own their home have to foot the bill. We are in one of the worst economic times in history, people losing their jobs, their homes, medical insurance, etc. that if this levy passes you can be sure there will be more foreclosures in our town. We all have to tighten our purse strings...schools included.
