Revere Schools Forum Paints Dire Financial Picture

Whose financial numbers do you believe?

Should a nest egg be spent now or will it be needed when bad times get worse?

Those were the central issues debated at Revere Schools Community Forum Tuesday. 

The get-together was one of many expected to be held at schools and governments across the state (Copley-Fairlawn Schools holds its meeting tonight at 7:30 p.m.) The meetings  are held to urge voters to object to cuts proposed by Ohio Gov. John Kasich. The governor has submitted a biennial budget to legislators that makes substantial reductions in state funding to schools and municipalities to close a budget hole of more than $8 billion.

During the Revere meeting,  Superintendent Randy Boroff posted contact information for State Sen. Frank LaRose, R-27  and State Rep. Vernon Sykes, D-44 and Lynn Slaby, R-41 on a large screen behind a dais filled with school administrators and members of the community finance committe, who support the levy.

"You are the community," Boroff said to the audience. "You have the most influence. (Legislators) need to hear from you that this is not the way you fund schools and that you need some relief."

Boroff  and other speakers repeated the same message: It's crucial voters pass the May 3 levy, a  10-year, 4.83 mill emergency operating levy. If the measure fails, officials said the district could fall into the red and lose its state report card rating of "excellent" a classification Revere Schools has held for 11 years.

Local real estate agent and panel member Michael Latine said the schools are the main reason Bath homes hold their value, and the area continues to thrive. He said corporate leaders looking to relocate never say "find me a home in Barberton," when they are house hunting in the area.

Boroff said a local levy was preferable to money sent to Columbus. "With a tax levy you know exactly where (the money) is going to end up."

Officials listed some of the cuts that will be made if the levy doesn't pass.

• Approximately 34 teachers will lose their jobs
• Class sizes will increase
• Foreign languages and field trips at the middle school level will be lost.
• Some advanced-placement classes at the high school will no longer be offered.

According to the district's financial calculations, Revere Schools will lose $3.28 million in state funds due to additional state budget cuts. Also pending legislation favored by Gov. Kasich to relax regulations on vouchers could mean the district will have to pay an extra $1.3 million for students who live in the district, but choose to attend a private or charter school.

Most of the comments from the panel in support of the levy were greeted with applause from the crowd, which was heavily attended by the pro-levy group Family and Community Together for Schools (F.A.C.T.S.), but not all the audience members were supportive.

In fact, a good deal of the presentation seemed designed to refute points made by Larry Chlebina, Treasurer of Concerned Citizens for Responsible School Administration, a group that opposes the levy.

Chlebina said that laying off 34 teachers is a scare tactic given that the district has a $13 million surplus. He also said that planning for cuts that have yet to be passed by legislators is premature.

Jack Delaney, a Bath resident since 1982, said after the meeting that he has "paid double" while a resident: tuition for his children who lived here but attended private schools  and paid for public school levies. He said he will not vote for the levy on May 3, "I want to see what the effect of the budget will be, and I think we have time to wait with a $13 million surplus."

Another man said he saw no reason to rely on the district's five-year forecast, on which the need for the levy was based, because it overestimated how bad the economy would be.

Mary Anne and Dick Krejci, self-described 70-ish residents of Bath Township have seen three generations of their family graduate from Revere Schools. They will support the levy.

"You always vote for schools, fire and police. It's what keeps property values up and keeps the new ones coming in," Mary Anne Krejci said. "That's what we all need -- it's a round-robin thing."

Tracie Gamblin, 44, and her husband, Rance Gamblin, 43, worry that the things they would need to pay out of pocket for, like choir and sports, will cost more than the tax increase a levy would bring. They support the levy.

"We calculated the amount and it's in the thousands," Tracie Gamblin said. "And that's yearly. Some of these things might be charged by the trimester."

"I'm hoping the last two levies (for new money that failed) got the attention of this community," Rance Gamblin said. "They're getting ready to gut these schools like a fish -- and that is unacceptable."

District Treasurer David Forrest said spending the $13 million to keep a levy off the ballot would not work. The surplus would cover the school expenses for approximately five months, and if spent would mean that voters would likely face a 9-mill measure, almost twice the amount of the levy on the May 3 ballot.

The school board on Tuesday took the first step toward its contingency plan by issuing contracts for the 34 teachers targeted for layoff if the levy fails. To make the personnel cuts, the district had to issue new contract so it would have something to suspend if the layoffs are needed.