Mythbusters Newsletter

Tom Lynch

Second Edition

Carol French and Administrative Cuts

On February 15, 2012, Carol French, Board Member, is quoted in Westerville News & Public Opinion saying, No real cuts have been i made at the administrative level. FALSE On December 19, 2011, the Westerville City Schools Board of Education voted to accept policy changes, proposed by the districts administration, phasing in significant increases in administrative staff contributions towards their health insurance premiums. Most administrators will begin paying over $3500 more per year for their healthcare benefits, resulting in an effective pay cut of 5% for an ii employee making $70,000. This change is being phased in between January 1 and August 1, 2012. Additionally, 11 administrative positions are being eliminated. Three of these reductions have already taken place as staff members have resigned in favor of opportunities in other school districts. The relocation of these administrators illustrates that employees who do not feel valued will seek greener pastures, to the detriment of our schools.

Decreased State Funding

Per pupil funding from the State has fallen by 9.3% from 2008 to 2011. State Unrestricted and Restricted Grants: 2008 = $34.2 million; 2011 = $32.8 milliona decrease of $1.4 million in funding Enrollment: 2008 = 13,470; 2011 = 14,105an increase in 635 students enrolled in the district In FY2010, Westerville received only 30% of its budget from the state compared to the state average of 43.5% and 33% in Franklin & Delaware counties.

HB920 + Inflation = Levies

School property taxes in different school districts are determined, in part, by the relative property wealth of a district. Revenue growth is also heavily constrained by state law. Thanks to HB920, a state law passed in 1976 and later amended to the state constitution, Westerville levies collect only 2/3 of the voted millage (43.03 effective mills on residential property vs. 65.4 voted mills). th Our districts revenue is $165 per mill, 11 of 20 districts in Franklin and Delaware counties. The state of Ohio categorizes Westerville as a wealthy district based on this calculation.

As costs naturally go up Ohio school districts revenues do not. Couple this with waning state funding and taxpayers face a never ending cycle of levies.

About Our Schools

Westerville is the 11 largest school district in the state of Ohio, comparable to Dayton, Dublin and Hilliard in size. At 9.37%, the proportion of ESL students in Westerville City Schools is four times the state average. In FY 2012 30.9% of Westerville City Schools students received free/reduced lunch. That is triple the proportion of students eligible for this program in FY2002. th WCSD has the 5 highest pupil-per-administrator ratio in Franklin & Delaware counties. At 233 students per administrator, thats 30 more than our neighboring districts and 75 more students per administrator than the state average. Unemployment in the Columbus metro area has fallen 2.4 points since 2009. Central Ohio unemployment has averaged iii almost 1.5 points lower than the rate for the entire state of Ohio since 2008.
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http://www.snponline.com/articles/2012/02/16/westerville_news_and_public_opinion/opinion/letters/wefrenchle_20120215_0215pm_6.txt) http://www.boarddocs.com/oh/wcsd/board.nsf/public agenda and voting record from 12/19/2011 Board meeting Based on Bureau of Labor Statistics seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate in December of each year

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