Fri Sep 10 2010
by Tim Troglen
Reporter
Hudson -- The Board of Education on July 26 unanimously agreed to put a 5.9-mill operating levy on the Nov. 2 ballot.
The levy, if passed, would generate $5.6 million in new revenue annually for school district operations, including personnel and student support costs.
It would cost the owner of a $200,000 home $361 per year, and the owner of a $300,000 home $542 per year.
The July 26 vote was the second part of a two-step process, according to Hudson Schools Treasurer Bart Griffith, to meet an Aug. 4 deadline for the fall ballot. Last week, the Board approved the need for the levy.
The July 26 vote was 4-0, with Board members Joy York, Gary Mushock, David Zuro and Patricia Engelman supporting the measure. Board Vice President Steve DiMauro was absent.
The school district will now send the levy to the Summit County Board of Elections for certification and placement on the fall ballot.
If the levy fails, the district will cut staff and programming, Superintendent Steve Farnsworth said.
"Should the levy fail, more teachers will be let go, and class sizes will grow significantly as a result," Farnsworth said July 26. "Student activities and athletic opportunities will be cut, and curriculum will also be cut."
A list of the potential cuts will be made public by Sept. 1, Farnsworth said.
"I can state absolutely that the required cuts will dramatically impact our ability to provide the well-rounded, excellent education our residents expect and our students deserve," Farnsworth said.
"We are going to communicate the specific ramifications of the levy to the voters, which we recognize is a double-edged sword," he said. "That is, if we present the specific cuts that will need to be made due to the levy failure in November, we will be perceived to be threatening."
However, he said, if the Board does not talk about the specific cuts and then imposes them if the levy fails, "many will chastise us for not telling them of the severe ramifications of a 'no' vote."
Voters turned down a 5.9-mill levy in May.
This time around, Farnsworth said, the Board will "arm the residents with the facts, and we will rely on them to make an informed decision.
"We are confident the schools will provide accurate, timely and factual information to the residents of Hudson," he said. "[And] we are hopeful that the community will weigh the facts and support the schools."
Farnsworth has said the district will cut spending even if the levy passes.
"The School Board and the administration have listened to the residents of Hudson and have trimmed expenditures going in to the 2010-11 school year by $2.7 million," Farnsworth said.
He announced July 19 that administrators will not accept pay increases this year and will increase their contributions to their health coverage from 4 percent to 10 percent of their health care costs.
"It shows we are all in this economic crisis together," he said. "We as administrators want to do our part to assist in this difficult time."
The pay freezes and increases in health care premium payments will reduce the annual take home pay for administrators by about $1,000 each, Farnsworth said.
The district will make an additional $300,000 in staff cuts for the 2010-11 school year, Farnsworth said on July 19. Those cuts have not been announced.
The Board is also asking for concessions from the unions for the teachers and support staff.
York, the School Board president, said Board members are in a "very, very, difficult position."
"We are listening and we know how hard this is," she said. "We can't lose sight of the fact that we are responsible for the education of the children of this community, and I can't shirk this responsibility."
Hudson voters last passed a school operating levy in November 2006 when they supported a 5.5-mill levy, which continues to bring in $5 million annually. Voters had defeated a 6.9-mill levy in May 2006 before the School Board reduced the millage for the November ballot.
E-mail: ttroglen@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3146
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