Letter from the AW Superintendent
Greetings,
On March 4, 2008, voters in the Anthony Wayne Local School District turned down a 6.5 mill emergency operating levy to renew local school funds and add additional revenue to the school operating budget. That levy request of $6,000,000 is still absolutely necessary to continue the current school programs in our school district. Without the renewal of the 2003 emergency operating levy and the additional funds, the Anthony Wayne Local Board of Education will be forced to continue further reductions in spending. These reductions now move beyond efficiency and will result in the elimination of programs and services offered to our students and the community.
At this time, I am recommending that the board of education
continue to support the practice of taking advantage of attrition to reduce
personnel costs. Since December 2006, we have reduced approximately
$2,000,000 in spending through personnel attrition and other efficient
management practices. For the 2008-2009 school year, we will re-assign
reading and math intervention teachers in grades K-6 to fill vacancies in
regular classroom positions. The board of education has also implemented
Reduction in Force to suspend the administrative contracts of the communications
director, executive director of curriculum and instruction, business manager,
and the assistant superintendent. Further board action to revise the
organizational chart subsequently eliminated all of these positions.
On Monday, April 14 the Anthony Wayne Local School Board passed
resolutions of necessity to place two levies on the August 5 ballot. Both
of these levies will be emergency operating levies. This action was taken
because the school board desires to maintain the quantity and quality of school
programs in the arts, athletics, and academics. One levy will be a renewal
of the emergency operating levy which was first passed in 2003 and generates
$3,000,000 annually for five years. The other tax issue will be a new
proposal to produce an additional $3,000,000 per year for a five-year
period. These two levies combined are requesting the same amount of money
as the recently defeated March 4 levy.
Since discovering the operating deficit in the fall of 2006, I have
consistently maintained that we will balance the operating budget by
streamlining spending and limiting the hiring of new employees. This
promise can no longer be kept without help from the community by approving the
renewal levy and the additional funds. Failure of both levies on August 5,
will force the board of education to cut spending by 1.9 million dollars for the
2008-2009 school year. Reducing the operating budget through attrition
alone will not be sufficient. The implementation of Reduction in Force
would be required to suspend the contracts of certified and classified
employees. The school board would also limit the use of the K-6 school
facilities during "non-school" hours to conserve energy and personnel
costs. Additional reductions to bussing would also be considered. In
addition, students in grades 7-12 would be required to "pay to participate" to
continue extra-curricular activities.
It is critical for school district residents to know that passing only one levy puts a one-year "Band-Aid" on our financial problem. Passing only one levy creates a $230,000 carryover balance in June 2009. This amount of money is below the amount accepted by the State of Ohio and, therefore, our school district would remain in Fiscal Caution. It is absolutely necessary that both levies pass to ensure the financial stability of the school system. My request of our school district residents is to consider that school officials have made spending reductions before simply "holding out our hands" for more money. The Anthony Wayne Local School District desperately needs your help to secure both the existing and new revenue for the Anthony Wayne Local Schools.
Sincerely,
Dr. John Granger
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