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Austintown board members differ on whether open enrollment should continue for the district
AUSTINTOWN
Some school board members had different opinions Wednesday on whether open enrollment should continue for the district.
Open enrollment brought more than $4 million into the Austintown school district for the 2015-16 school year, said board President Kathy Mock.
Board member Harold Porter discussed putting a levy in place instead of open enrollment to bring in similar revenue.
But Ken Jakubec, board vice president, said no one is going to do away with free money and instead tax themselves.
“To have free money [from open enrollment] and do away with that, turn around and put on a three- or four-mill levy and tax ourselves for something we are getting for nothing – if you think that’s going to pass, go to another planet because that’s not going to happen,” Jakubec said.
Sandra Thorndike, Austintown Educational Association vice president and Austintown teacher, said although she wasn’t against open enrollment, she asked the board to consider having a more-open line of communication in terms of the guidelines in which the district accepts open-enrollment students – caps per grade level, deadlines to submit applications and more.
“They [teachers] just want to be more open in communicating with the board of education in how decisions are made about what students join the Falcon family,” Thorndike said. “Teachers in the Austintown schools want to meet the needs of all the students in your charge, whether they are Austintown residents or students who come to us from other places around the area.”
Mock encouraged taking a look at the bigger picture, and the reason students beyond district borders attend Austintown schools.
“We have some students who are coming to our district. ... Because they know that our teaching staff is giving them the education they deserve and they need in order to better themselves,” Mock said.
More tension ensued when the board voted to reduce cafeteria workers’ hours.
Superintendent Vince Colaluca said the reduction is because of major changes in federal food guidelines – specifically the incorporation of more-healthful meals.
“When we buy those types of products, it costs a lot, so, unfortunately for the district, our costs have risen to provide the lunches that we provide,” Colaluca said. “The federal government does not increase the lunch dollars that come to the school.”
Several staff members stood in silent protest.
“Food is the most-important thing for our kids. To go forth and then to cut them [food department workers] is ridiculous because they are hard workers – all of them,” said Vicki Conley, bus driver.