Esther Nagel of Custar showed up at the levy forum hosted by the Bowling Green School
District Friday to get some questions answered.
Unlike other forums though, there no stage nor microphones involved. Just
Superintendent Ann McVey, Assistant Superintendent Diane Tache, school board
member Lee Hakel and a few interested citizens sitting around a table at Grounds
for Thought.
While there was information about the 0.5-percent income tax levy on the ballot in
Tuesday’s election, there was also talk about a second-grade program and former
students.
And there was plenty of talk about why the district needs the money.
McVey said that the income tax has been in place since 1993, and it is not a new tax.
It generates about 9 percent of the district’s $40 million budget.
Asked if it was crucial to the district finances she, Tache and Hakel answered in
unison "yes."
Nagel wanted to know what cost-saving moves the district had made.
The teaching force has been reduced by 33 positions since 2004. This year, McVey
said, 12 teachers are retiring. None will be replaced.
The district, she said, has favored staff reductions through attrition. "We feel
a commitment to the City of Bowling Green," she said. "We don’t want
our people to lose their jobs. That’s not good for the economy."
The district has also closed schools – South Main and Milton, with Ridge slated to
close at the end of this year.
That will leave the district with three elementary schools at "equitable size
and optimal size."
Nagel knew first hand about the closing of Milton. Her granddaughter in second grade
was one of the students who moved from Milton to Conneaut. She said when she
asked her how she liked school, she simply made a trilling noise to signal her
approval.
These buildings, plus the new middle school replacing the old structure on South
Grove, will be more efficient to run, and will better enable officials to
balance out class sizes.
The district also sold off its old administration building and moved into "much
more economically sized" rental space, Hakel said.
"We really are trying to do everything we can to look at every dollar and be as
fiscally responsible as we can," McVey said.
With all those cuts, the superintendent said, the district has still been able to
maintain elective programs including a full range of arts offerings and its
vocational agriculture program.
Nagel said both her sons studied in the vo-ag program. "That made school for
them."
Even with the renewal of the income tax, district voters may very well face a request
for new money in the fall.
McVey said that the state funding situation is so uncertain that it makes it
difficult to plan ahead.
Hakel said it was the Board of Education that decided to take a
"conservative" approach and simply ask for the renewal of the income
tax at its current rate, understanding they may have to come back to voters for
more money at a later date.
As she left the gathering, Nagel indicated she was satisfied with the answers she’d
heard and was inclined to vote "yes" on Tuesday.