School board OKs notices of job cuts

Bus drivers will be hard-hit by job cuts if the levies fail.
By JEANNE STARMACK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- The school board voted to notify employees that they are laid off or their contracts won't be renewed if two renewal levies fail at the ballot May 2.
School officials are hoping for passage of two five-year renewals: a 4.9-mill levy and a 7.3-mill levy, which together would raise $5.2 million a year.
The levies do not increase taxes, but rather, they allow the district to continue collecting the same amount of tax revenue it collects now.
If the levies fail, the district will have to make cuts, its officials have said.
By state law, the district must notify employees before April 30 if their jobs are going to be cut, explained schools Superintendent Doug Heuer at Wednesday's board meeting at Fitch High School. So the district notified the employees just in case. If the levies pass, Heuer said, the notifications will be rescinded.
No plan for cuts now
Heuer said that there is no plan in place for cuts now. He said such a plan won't be written unless the levies fail. Heuer and board president Michael Creatore said that if both levies fail, it's a good possibility that everyone who was notified will be laid off.
If one levy fails, Heuer said, the district will have to determine which job cuts would least likely affect academic programs.
Eight teachers under limited contracts were notified their contracts would be suspended after the 2005-2006 school year. Four part-time teachers were notified their contracts would not be renewed.
Twenty-seven classified employees, the majority of them bus drivers, were notified their contracts would be suspended.
Twenty-one classified employees, the majority of them paraprofessionals, were notified their limited contracts would not be renewed.
The rest of those notified are speech and gymnastics paraprofessionals, and classified and certificated substitute employees.
The school board and administrators are trying hard to persuade the public that passage of the levies is critical for the operation of the district.
During a state-of-the-schools meeting in January, they asked for public input on what cuts to make should the levies fail. They also asked for cuts to make up for a $1 million shortfall that Heuer says will occur next school year even if the levies pass.
The school board has also been holding meetings at different locations in the district to take questions about why the levies are needed. The last meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Fitch High School.