Other districts
Special board session called to evaluate school staffers
NEW RICHMOND – The New Richmond school board has called a special board meeting Friday to evaluate the superintendent, Adam Bird, and treasurer Teresa Napier.
The meeting begins at 1 p.m. at 212 Market St. Other actions may be taken.
Source: THE ENQUIRER 12/14/11 B3
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Dismissal ends case vs. school, teacher by Jessica Brown Enq 121711 C3
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MEDIAN INCOME …………2005 —- 2011
Lakota district residents $48,921 – $52,956
Ohio residents ………. $29,677 – $30,850
Ohio teachers ……………….$48,033 – $54,797
Lakota teachers …………………$51,271 – $63,736
Source: Cupp report. Ohio Dept. of Taxation, (Lakota 046110)
Lakota will cut 141 teaching, classroom specialist, school nurse and school staff positions, and nine school and central office administrators. Lakota’s annual operating budget is $154 million. The district faces a projected budget shortfall of $14.1 million by 2015.
$10.5 million budget cuts approved 3/12/12 by BOE.
The district is running out of money after voters have rejected three tax hikes in two years. (six of seven ballot losses since 2004)
Source: Lakota school’s budget ax falls. District will cut 141 jobs; arts, athletics time down. By Michael Clark The Enquirer 3/13/12 B1 (3/14/12 Lakota’s future worries parents by Michael Clark.)
(Graeme George called for 1100 teachers to take pay cuts rather than pay freezes they agreed to in renegotiated contract reopened last year. “It is my opinion that none of the cuts and reductions will be necessary if teacher and employee compensation is sufficiently reduced,” George said.)
State officials have rejected a plan to re-open two shuttered (Little Miami) schools. “We collaborated with the state commission to develop this plan last summer, and we thought they were fully supportive of it,” Power said.
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The state-appointed board has power that supersedes those of the locally-elected school board.
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Power said, “We will communicate with our parents in a timely fashion as we seek approval from the state commission to return art, music and physical education and kindergarten programming for the next school year.”
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Source: State’s decision shocks district. Two Little Miami schools won’t
reopen By Michael Clark The Enquirer C1
..Lakota superintendent Mantia recommended that $1.9 million be cut as part of a restructuring of art, music and physical education programs at the 18,000-student school system. The reduction plan will also shift more time and resources for instruction in science and social studies, as required by upgraded state standards...“Though students will experience a decreased amount of exposure to art, music and physical education, the increased instruction in the core subjects will help them meet the more rigorous standards.’..The latest phase of budget reduction- designed to trim $9 million from the 2012-13 school-year focused only on kindergarten through sixth grades.
The district employees 501 teachers in its 14 school buildings housing K-6. Lakota employees a total of more than 1,100 teachers.
..Previous budget-cutting proposals from Mantia in recent months have called for the elimination of a total 86 other teaching and school staff position for the next school year.
..Under the latest plan, Lakota would retain two art, two music and two physical education teachers as well as one unified arts teacher for grades one through six. Those teachers would travel to various schools to teach the specialized classes.
..Currently, regular classroom teachers, use art, music and physical education periods for some of their planning time. To make up for that loss of planning time, the district would hire 21 instructional aides, at lower salaries than teachers. The aids would take over recess duty from teachers and those instructors would then use recess periods as one of the times they would do instructional planning.
..Source: Lakota may cut 36 more teachers.
Superintendent says plan would save $19 million. By Michael D. Clark, The Enquirer 2/24/12 C3
..The CPS district of 30,000 students is asking residents to fill out a online survey at http://www.cps-k12.org
Ask residents what service and programs they think are most important.
..CPS, like many districts across the state, is facing a deep deficit next school year. It’s estimating cuts of up to $43 million and has not ruled out layoffs. This year general fund budget is $458.6 million, down almost 2 percent from the previous year.
..A recent survey of school districts by the research group Policy Matters Ohio found that 65 percent of respondents are facing budget shortfalls this year. Many said they plan to cut teachers and programs, boost class sizes or require students to pay more for extracurricular activities.CPS supt. said the district has kept spending flat.
..She blamed the deficit on dropping revenue due to state and federal cuts, lower property tax collection and the bad economy.
..Source: School survey: What’s priority By Jessica Brown The Enquirer 2/14/12
.”Teaching jobs on the line at Lakota schools
Budget plan means bigger class sizes” By Michael Clark The Enquirer 2/14/12 B1
.For the second consecutive year Lakota schools are looking to cut dozens of teaching jobs to reduce costs and avoid a projected budget shortfall.
District officials called for slicing $4.3 million, including eliminating a total of 69 teaching position. The latest round would raise class sizes in the eight affected schools from an average of 25 students per teacher to 28 at the beginning of the 2012-2113 school year. Their class days will be shortened by 30-34 minutes and would start later in the morning. Graduation credit requirements would drop from 21 to 20 for the 2013 class.
.Voters in Lakota have rejected three proposed school tax hikes since 2010.
.The sweeping cuts for grades 7-12 are the latest in a series of recommendations to slice costs by $9 million.
Lakota annual operating budget is about $14 million and the district faces a $14.1 million projected deficit in 2015 without voter approval of a new operating tax sometime in 2012.
.The ballot losing streak has prompted officials to cut more than $25 million from the operating budget in recent years.
.Lakota has retained its state academic ranking of “Excellent With Distinction.”
New Approach gp
. At the end of this month, (Little Miami’s) Greg Powel will be named the 4,000-pupil district’s interim superintendent. In his seven years in the Warren County district, he’s served as high school assistant principal, director of administrative services, director of curriculum and instruction and – for about two weeks this summer – principal of Little Miami High School.
. …Power finds the district’s tenuous position to be strangely freeing and clarifying.
. The state has taken control of the district, a misapplied term that actually results in more confusion than clarity, but does provide relief from some state regulations and the opportunity – and obligations- to do things differently.
. That could mean, Power says, painting one scenario, that the high school operates like a community college, with students meeting in traditional classes two days a week working online but offsite two days and having one day for onsite project-based learning.
. That system would stretch teacher’s capacity, save on transportation and heating cost and – perhaps better fit some student’s learning styles.
. Power believes there are other ways to serve more students, perhaps by courting home-schooling families who could use school facilities and equipment in off hours.
. And he believes better communication – in particular, the superintendent out answering questions in the community – can lead to passage of a November 13.95-mill operating levy.
. This coming school year, Little Miami’s spending will shrink to less than $7,000 per pupil, likely the fourth lowest of the 614 districts in the state.
. Little Miami, alone of the group, is rated academically excellent.
Source: Still holding on to hope in beleaguered Little Miami By Krista RAMSEY The Enquirer 7/10/11 B1
About 77 percent of the budget is for personnel costs, Superintendent Karen Mantia said.
Voters rejected three operating tax levies from 2010 to 2011, the most recent in November.
Lakota’s annual operating budget is about $154 million and the district faces a $14.1 million projected budget deficit in 2015 without voter approval of a new operating tax in 2012. Lakota has already sliced more than $25 million from its operating budget in recent years.
Source: Lakota to cut budget in phases. The Enquirer 1/21/12 C3
Lakota…expected to cut $9 million from next school year’s operating budget. Executive Director of School Community Relations Laura Kursman, (2011 salary $79,515 per Buckeye Institute) who held the position since 2008, has been on leave since September.
Source: Lakota won’t fill ass’t suprintendent role…. The Enquirer 12/16/11 C4