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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2010 > June > 06 > Entry
Editorial: Kettering a harbinger for local school districts
Kettering is doing the right thing in closing Moraine Meadows Elementary School, as painful as it is.
The district has learned the hard way, through levy defeats, that voters are serious in their expectation that schools have to aggressively cut costs. Other districts are getting that signal, too.
Administrators in Kettering have known for some time that the cost versus benefit of keeping Moraine Meadows open was tilting in the wrong direction. When it closed this week, Moraine Meadows was the smallest non-charter elementary school among nearly 300 schools in a four-county area. With just 160 kids, it was roughly half the size you would expect for even a small elementary school.
Kettering tried to keep the school open partly because it served Moraine families, who are geographically isolated from most of the rest of the district.
Moreover, there were political considerations in play. Moraine, with its historically big industrial tax base, has contributed significant amounts of property taxes to the school district. Given how much money was coming to Kettering from Moraine, and how few Moraine students were attending Kettering (most go to West Carrollton), the community wanted something in return for its money.
(Last year Moraine contributed $7.5 million in property taxes to Kettering schools. The overall budget is $82 million.)
Ten years ago, when Moraine was flush with property taxes, it toyed with starting its own school district. Now, with the state phasing out the tangible personal property tax — that’s the tax businesses pay on their inventory and equipment — that wouldn’t be so easy.
Interestingly, Moraine Meadows is about the same size as Phillipsburg Elementary School, which was closed last year by the Northmont school board.
Similarly, Phillipsburg also was kept open primarily to serve families set somewhat apart. In the wake of a deep recession and moving into a new economic reality, keeping what are effectively special centers is hard to sell. Voters, who themselves are sacrificing financially, are likely to see especially small schools as unaffordable.
It needs to be said that some of the schools and practices that districts are trying to hold on to are not frivolous.
Keeping Moraine Meadows students close to home and in small classes, for instance, was also an academic strategy. As the school with the lowest-income families, a small elementary school helped students achieve.
Fortunately, Kettering has a good alternative. After some bumbling, which included an ill-advised plan to bus most of the kids five miles to distant schools, the district decided to assign the Moraine Meadows students to nearby Southdale Elementary School.
Class sizes will be bigger, but students will be attending a high-performing school. Sometimes, difficult circumstances force school leaders to see that they really do have a cheaper alternative that is still a good alternative.
Kettering for years passed its school levies on the first try. But in 2007 it took two attempts to win a new operating levy, and last month a new levy went down. Superintendent Jim Schoenlein said the school board’s decision to cut the size of the next request, planned for November, by 2 mills to 4.9 mills is forcing very tough decisions. The board believes reducing the levy size is necessary to pass it next time, he said.
“I can’t argue with them,” Mr. Schoenlein said.
The smaller levy will require $2.5 million in budget cuts. The shutdown of Moraine Meadows will save about $500,000 annually.
“We heard during the levy campaign that we needed to tighten our belts and understand the realities of the economy,” he said.
Other area school districts may also need to start facing up to those realities.
Permalink | Comments (13) | Post your comment | Categories: Editorials, Education, Scott Elliott, Suburban Communities
Comments
By Max
June 6, 2010 9:07 AM | Link to this
Meadows has been on the chopping block for closing consideration for some time. In a rare levy defeat Kettering had those cuts in its pocket to present in Novemeber. The question is, why did they not decide on the closure before the failed May levy? There are two ways of looking at it. Instead of demonstrating fiscal responsibility, the Board elected to enable the voters to pass an irresponsible levy thus exonerating the Board. The second view is the Kettering Board did not actively sell that May 4 levy because of a long history of passed levies during better economic times which underestimated the voters’ pain. Kettering - add Miamisburg - is a sign of things to come in November levies. The message is make all the cuts possible THEN sell the levy. Threats of cuts just anger the voters and borders on holding education hostage. That’s a State battle and the Boards have to clarify that. Regardless, larger classrooms, financially inefficent school closings, and smaller administration staff are what the future holds. Educating the public would seem to be an easy job for educators, but not politicians.
By Max
June 6, 2010 9:18 AM | Link to this
One side note regarding levies. The Ohio legislature might want to consider looking into the possibility of exerting some type of levy review prior to a levy going on an local ballot. That review would examine the overall financial strength/weakness of a district, the degree in real, not potential, benefit the levy would provide, and do away with unexamined renewals. This would also allow the State to stay in touch with its districts’ financial and educational health. There has ro be some indepedent accountability for local districts’ spending other than that coming from the districts themselves.
By doublecheck
June 6, 2010 9:44 AM | Link to this
I would check to make sure that Kettering really closed the school. Fairborn said they closed two schools to save taxpayer money and BOTH are still open! Our tax dollars are still being used for those buildings.
By Max
June 6, 2010 9:59 AM | Link to this
Doublecheck, as I understand it Moraine owns the building.
By bobby
June 6, 2010 10:37 AM | Link to this
The levy reduction is a good start. The board should find the remaining cost savings by reducing increases of projected personnel costs. A new retire/rehire policy should be considered.
By Max
June 6, 2010 10:57 AM | Link to this
Voters should be aware of the ‘levy cycle’ considered by school boards; 1.) February levies determine how many teacher contract renewals (and other cuts) they have to change in March (contract renewal deadline), 2.) May levies reflect the pass/failure of Feb.’s levy, but, unless eliminating teacher positions (the only way to void their contract), cuts have to be made at the extra-curricular/administration levels, 3.) November levies can be ‘renewals’ or a continuation of the previous two with no sustantial payroll/expenditure changes until the next school year. Then, in February, it all starts again.
By Graduate
June 6, 2010 1:11 PM | Link to this
I left Kettering in the early 70’s after graduation from Fairmont (“West”). It pains me to read about the problems occuring there. I was not a “scholar”…I tried to be, did well grade wise, and recieved an education that was the stable basis one needs to begin the college education phase of one’s life. I’ve done well in life. I credit a no nonsense approach (with lots of high school fun) to education that Fairmont provided. If all of you can still provide the excellence in education I received all those years ago, while struggling with balancing the books…please try. We all benefit eventually…not immediately, but instant gratification is just that. Long term planning on being the best (provided by the 70’s staff at Fairmont) helped make me a product of what the best education affordable can produce. Please try to continue the legacy on your limited budget. Thanks.
By Mary
June 6, 2010 1:49 PM | Link to this
I think Max’s suggestion on outside reviews on the need for levies is a good one. I do not think local authorities give a clear picture to the voters of finances. However, outside reviews are of little value if they have the same philosophy that more money is always better and that schools are nannies. I think we are past the point where the public and the “leadership” needs to sort out what should be the priorities of schools for each and every dollar. Cuts in services could be made in just about every school district. I firmly believe every school district can make cuts without increasing class sizes and can actually improve education.
By Dave
June 6, 2010 9:21 PM | Link to this
Elliot’s article hints that the state needs to look at closing the small districts as well as districts looking at closing buildings. Why does Jefferson Twp. still exist as an expensive, separate school. It could be merged with Valley View or New lebanon. Part of its students would blend right into Dayton. Large savings to the state funding.
By a mom
June 7, 2010 1:26 AM | Link to this
i am the mother of one of the students that went to moraine meadows school my son is autistic and has various other issues . the staff in that school helped him so very much , and they worked their tails off to make sure he had everything he needed to succeed , and guess what he brought home honor roll all four quarters this year for the first time . he has always had ok grades but there staff there worked so very hard and the last day was one of the hardest things to deal with for all of us . granted it needed to be done but when you think about the money part the kids that need that environment seem to always get forgotten . i am counting that he gets the same kind of schooling where he is going next year but class size is key factor in the way things are done , and if they get to big will my son get the same education or be shoved into a class where they will forget about him ? i am anxious to see what is will happen in the new year . and am hoping that things are an easy transition for all kids involved.
By Max
June 7, 2010 9:22 AM | Link to this
Dave, you raise a touchy issue being examined in Columbus; the merging of districts. At odds are the school boards facing extreme deficits BUT wanting to retain local, district control. The State, in a rare admission of its financial failures, maintains the merging of districts will save taxpayers money. Somewhere in there is a quiet discussion about the effects of mergers on education quality.
By Max
June 7, 2010 9:28 AM | Link to this
By A Mom; Special Needs kids’ classroom size as well as teacher-student ratios are set by the State. I think your child will continue receiving the attention he/she had at Meadows. As a suggestion, because it is a change for your child, contact your assigned school and request a ‘familiarization’ tour of the new school and teacher with your child before school starts.
By Rumormonger9
June 16, 2010 3:10 PM | Link to this
Consolidating districts makes some sense. We have over 600 school districts in Ohio. If we go to county based, plus urban districts, we can probably eliminate hundreds of superintendent($120k/yr), treasurer ($100k/yr), business manager ($100k/yr), etc. positions without affecting local control.