Newcomers, incumbents face off for Liberty Township trustee, school board positions.

October 10, 2015 at 12:00a.m.

LIBERTY

Fiscal vigilance ranks at the top of agendas of candidates running for both school board and trustee positions in Liberty Township.

The state placed the township in a state of fiscal caution in October 2013 and announced a continuation of that designation in July. State audits going back to 2010 identify problems, including a $3,000 overpayment of the township’s law director and the improper transfer of $246,692 from the fire- and police-district funds in an attempt to balance the general budget.

Fiscal caution is less severe than fiscal watch or fiscal emergency. Unlike cases of fiscal watch or emergency, local officials retain control during fiscal caution.

The Liberty Local Schools district regained fiscal control in 2014 after battling its way back from a state of fiscal emergency designated by the state auditor in 2011. In order to balance its budget after the 2011 designation, the district saved $1.8 million annually by eliminating 36 jobs, cutting $136,000 annually after reducing salaries for four positions, joining an insurance consortium to cut costs by $1.2 million annually, saving $74,000 annually with a service agreement for the treasurer and assistant treasurer and cutting $60,000 in various supplemental programs, according to the auditor.

trustees

Four candidates – one incumbent and three newcomers – will square off for one trustee seat.

Incumbent Jodi Stoyak, a trustee for the past 12 years, is seeking another four-year term. She cites a record of achievements, including a senior watch program, a contract for a single garbage hauler to keep costs down and securing grants for sidewalks and Interstate 80 upkeep. Roads are a key issue for Stoyak and she said money from a 1.25-mill road levy, which passed after being voted down twice before, should be spent strategically. Her goals include beautifying Belmont Avenue, sharing services with other levels of government and balancing the budget – a task that’s become more difficult as the state winnows local funding, she said.

Jeffrey Seidler, owner of ABC party rentals and a bread distributorship, said his business background qualifies him to keep watch over the township’s money and negotiate contracts. He plans to aggressively pursue grant opportunities and work with neighboring communities. Under his leadership, township services will be provided in a timely manner, he said. Seidler ran unsuccessfully for Liberty trustee and 2001 and the Liberty Board of Education in 2005.

Gregory Cizmar, a self-employed, lifelong Liberty resident, calls keeping the township out of fiscal watch his number one priority. He’s expressed concern about the state of roads and ditches, but said he’d seek grants rather than additional levies or service fees to pay for repairs. Additionally, Cizmar wants to hire more police officers, but said that he’d reduce overtime pay in the police and fire departments. Cizmar lost a Liberty trustee race in 2013.

Lisa Sicilian, a medical assistant, said she’s running to serve the community she’s lived in for 31 years. Roads are the township’s biggest problem, she said, and fixing them would be her main objective. She said she wouldn’t support additional levies for roads or anything else, but she would support a renewal.

BOARD OF EDUCATION

Three candidates will compete for two school board positions.

Incumbent Diana De Vito touts experience, including eight years on the Liberty school board and more than 30 years working in education as both a teacher and an administrator.

“I want to give back to my community, plain and simple,” she said. “The thing I know the most about is school.”

Her primary objective is to keep the district’s budget in the black. She was school-board president in 2011 when the state declared an emergency, and she cites a track record of bringing the district back to fiscal responsibility. She said the eventual implosion of the district’s finances was “not the result of anyone one person,” but rather the result of years of bad practice including too much borrowing.

Davis said the district remains on a tight budget, especially given the volatility of federal and state funding, and that she’s thankful to the employees who have sacrificed to “right the ship.” De Vito says she’ll continue to pursue cost-saving measures such as grant money to replace buses. Another one of her goals is to bring new technology into the classroom.

David Malone is also an incumbent. Malone, the Intermediate School principal at Springfield Local Schools, joined the Liberty school board four years ago and is board president. He cites 13 years of experience in school administration and said he has a direct incentive to ensure strong performance since three of his children attend school in the district.

Having come into office soon after the declaration of fiscal emergency, he said he’s proved his merit after helping right the budget through measures including negotiating a new employee health-insurance contract that saved the district more than $1 million and cutting staff. He said the district had too many employees relative to the number of enrolled students and that he’ll continue to keep close watch on those numbers to avoid unnecessary expense.

“We were able to get the district back on track without asking the taxpayers for more money,” Malone said. “That’s why I strongly feel that Diana De Vito and myself deserve to be re-elected.”

Additionally, Malone said he’ll work to extend an upward trend of academic achievement and make sure students meet Common Core standards.

Scott Davis, a sales manager with Cerni Motor Sales, puts improving academics at the top of his list. Specifically, Davis referred to the district’s “C” performance index ranking by the Ohio Department of Education based on the number of students who passed a state test. A “C” is unacceptable, Davis said. Davis didn’t offer specific plans for fixing academics, but said he’d listen to teachers and administrators and redirect funding where necessary.

“Leave it up to the educators themselves to develop the program and I’ll make them stick to it,” Davis said.

Davis said he’d keep close watch over the district’s finances. According to Davis, the fiscal emergency occurred in part because the school board at that time didn’t demand necessary information from the treasurer, who eventually resigned.

“If elected, I’m going to ask questions and hold people accountable,” Davis said.

Davis lost a township-trustee election in 2005.