43
Poland district resists closing an elementary school
POLAND
As voters twice rejected an additional school levy, the Poland school district made cuts totaling $1.4 million, though it’s still projected to have a $2 million deficit by 2014.
But one thing the district will not do — at least not in the immediate future — is close an elementary school.
Although it never formally has come before the board of education, the district’s administrators have researched what effect closing an elementary school would have. The research showed there is not enough capacity to close a K-4 school and absorb those classes into another K-4 school.
The district has three elementary schools: North Elementary on Johnson Place, Dobbins Elementary on Dobbins Road and Union Elementary on Riverside Drive.
In the early 1980s, Union Elementary was closed because of declining enrollment. It reopened as the district’s largest K-4 elementary school in 1996, also housing prekindergarten and after-school programs.
Poland’s peak K-12 enrollment was 3,087 in 1971-72 with class sizes well above the state limit today. The district’s 2011-12 enrollment is 2,310, including prekindergarten and county special education, according to district records.
State law dictates a maximum class size of 25 students per one full-time teacher, said Patrick Gallaway, Ohio Department of Education spokesman. That number can be lowered through local negotiations but cannot exceed 25 students, he said. Nonpublic community and charter schools are exempt from this restriction.
In 1971-72, the two kindergarten classes at Dobbins Elementary had 36 and 35 students each. Today, those two classes have 19 and 20 students.
In 1971-72, the two fourth-grade classes at North Elementary had 30 and 31 students each. Today, those class sizes are much lower, with 18 and 19 students in each fourth-grade classroom.
Elementary buildings have lost classroom space to state-mandated requirements such as school libraries and computer labs.
“While current capacities do not allow a school closing, this is something the school administrators are very cognizant of, are watching closely and are continuing to study,” said Superintendent Robert Zorn.
“If enrollments keep dropping, a school closing may become a reality in the future, but at present this is not practical,” he continued.
The savings in operating expenses if the district, for example, closed North Elementary would be about $40,000 in utility costs, Zorn said. It also would cost the district money, as it would have to dole out unemployment payments.
Another complication is the ongoing discussion of open enrollment as a revenue source. If an elementary school is closed, that would wipe out the district’s ability to open-enroll students because there would not be space for additional students.
School-board president Dr. Larry Dinopoulos said the board is continuing discussions about open enrollment.
On March 6, voters will decide a 3.8-mill, five-year additional emergency operating levy for Poland schools that would generate $1,448,561 annually. At the same time, a 0.8-mill bond issue will be paid off by the school, so if the March levy is approved, the net effect to taxpayers is a 3-mill increase. The annual cost of that 3-mill increase would be $105 on a house valued at $100,000.
“We’re asking for about as little as we can possibly ask for,” said board member Richard “Beau” Weaver.
Weaver said he wants to encourage those who voted against the additional school levies in the past to attend school-board meetings and a levy forum, which has yet to be scheduled.
“If you voted no, I want to know what can we do to change your mind,” Weaver said.
The last time voters approved an additional Poland school levy was in 2003 when a 6.9-mill emergency operating levy was on the ballot.
The district is expected to have a $1.5 million carry-over at the end of this school year and about $200,000 at the end of the 2012-13 school year, according to the financial forecast on record with the state. A $2 million deficit is expected by 2014, a $4.3 million deficit in 2015 and a $6.9 million deficit in 2016, records show.
These projections can’t account for variables such as changing county costs, capital improvements, retirees and negotiations, said Treasurer Donald Stanovcak.
Zorn asked every principal for a prioritized list of requests, if the levy is approved. The elementary principals’ top item is to have a full-time physical-education teacher who would rotate among the three K-4 buildings. Right now, that position is only part time.
In middle-school classes, new textbooks are desired. The district hasn’t purchased any new textbooks since 2009. The board discussed purchasing a classroom set or using online texts at their Jan. 9 meeting, departing from the precedent that each child has a textbook in hand, but did not reach a final decision.
“We can put some back, but we can’t put everything back the way it was before. Even if the levy passes, it will not be a return to the old days,” Zorn said.