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Demand fiscal accountability
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EDITOR:
Regrettably, being a watchdog of taxpayer’s dollars is not Liberty Local School Districts forte because something notable happened when a performance audit was completed on the district that should be a major embarrassment to the members of the board, the administrators, the superintendent, and an insult to the taxpayers of Liberty Township. The audit in detail explained how and where to save $1.2 million of the residents’ tax dollars. In the audit, the LLSD treasurer reported that even with renewals of the 7.9- and 3.1-mill levies, the deficit would swell to approximately $11.7 million by FY 2012-13. Fellow residents, to buy our way out of this (if possible) will cause indisputable hardships to Liberty’s tax base leaving no household untouched for years, if not decades.
Asking senior citizens on fixed incomes and low to middle income homeowners who may be a check away from foreclosure, bankruptcy, or unemployment to find money they don’t have, is as ludicrous as the organization that supported the levy in the spring election saying, “We should pass the levy for Walmart.” In monthly meetings, I asked the board numerous times, “How did you get in this financial mess?” and their answer was always a blank stare. Noting that administrative costs are more than double the peer average, a resident’s request asking the board to discontinue the special bonus given to administrative members was met with, “We don’t want to demoralize them.” I asked the board to forgo the levy in lieu of the economic conditions and numerous home foreclosures. “We get it, we all get it”, says the board president, and then they proceeded to a unanimous vote to place the new 9.9-mill levy back on the November ballot.
Finally, of the $53 billion dollars set aside in the federal government stimulus package to retain teachers for the next two years because of property tax losses, Ohio received over $1.9 billion and hopefully it gives the receiving school districts enough time to get their acts together. Until then, I encourage all Liberty voters to say no, again to this levy. Don’t make the vote of those who support the levy worth more than yours.
EDWARD E. PALUMBO Jr.
Liberty Township
Comments
Mr. Palumbo,
I applaud your interest your local schools finances and I agree there is probably areas that can be tightened up but you probably don't have all of the facts about the stimulus dollars.
The federal stimulus money is smoke and mirrors. It was given to the states to fill budget gaps. In most cases this is not additional dollars for schools, most schools are only receiving 99% of the funding they received last year (that includes the so-called additional stimulus dollars).
There was additional federal grant dollars given to school districts for Special Education and Title I Education but a majority of that money can not be used for current expenditures. The feds are requiring districts to hire more employees and start new programs with this money and then in two years when the money is gone the districts are going to be forced to lay off the newly hired people and discontinue these programs.
Maybe instead of hammering the school board you should have been hammering your local politicians to fix school funding that was deemed unconstitutional for the last 15 years. Or hammer them about why they got rid of the tangible personal property tax that was a tax on businesses inventories and equipment. These two things have slowly shifted a higher burden of funding schools strictly to the homeowner. Your school board has no control of these things.
Now your probably saying, well the school board should be pestering these politicians, but the politicians have been hearing from board members, administrators and teachers for a long time. They need to hear from the homeowner.
The school board does have control over spending and they continue to spend more than the tax-payers are willing to pay.
For you AKAFR1
10/19/2009
Below is a fact sheet outlining the impact of U.S. Department of Education Recovery Act funding on Ohio.
State Fiscal Stabilization Funds:
The State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF) program is a new one-time appropriation of $53.6 billion under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). These funds are distributed directly to states to:
• Help stabilize state and local government budgets in order to minimize and avoid reductions in education and other essential public services.
• Help ensure that local educational agencies (LEAs) and public institutions of higher education (IHEs) have the resources to avert cuts and retain educational personnel and staff.
• Help support the modernization, renovation, and repair of school and college facilities.
• Help advance early learning through post-secondary education reforms to benefit students and families.
As of today, $1,306,352,195 in State Fiscal Stabilization funds have been awarded to Ohio.
Title I, Part A– Supporting Low-Income Schools:
The ARRA provides $10 billion in additional Title I, Part A funds to state education agencies (SEAs) and local education agencies (LEAs) to support schools that have high concentrations of students from families that live in poverty in order to help improve teaching and learning for students most at risk of failing to meet state academic achievement standards.
As of today, $372,673,474 in Title I funds have been awarded to Ohio.
IDEA Grants, Parts B & C – Improving Special Education Programs:
The ARRA provides $12.2 billion in additional funding for Parts B and C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Part B of the IDEA provides funds to state educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) to help them ensure that children with disabilities, including children aged three through five, have access to a free appropriate public education to meet each child's unique needs and prepare him or her for further education, employment, and independent living. Part C of the IDEA provides funds to each state lead agency designated by the Governor to implement statewide systems of coordinated, comprehensive, multidisciplinary interagency programs and make early intervention services available to infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families.
As of today, $467,498,988 in IDEA funds have been awarded to Ohio.
akafr1,
Again I stated that all school district budgets could be tightened up but there are other areas that spending can not be avoided
Some examples are Open Enrollment and Community School - These are kids that live in your district and attend other districts or charter schools. The educating school receives over $5700.00 per regular education child (if the child has special needs that cost goes up). The district has no control over kids leaving their district. If you have a bad year where 20 additional kids leave your district that is a cost of $114,000 per year (1.3 million dollars over 12 years) of your state and local funds and district can do nothing about it.
The new state budget requires all districts to offer all day every day kindergarten at a ratio of 15 kids to one teacher with no additional funding from the state. While some districts already offer this type of program many don't. Two issues arise from this unfunded mandate: One, in order to meet the 15 to 1 requirement more teachers will need hired and Two, if you have no room in your building for additional classrooms you will have to expand to your building or purchase mobile classrooms again with no additional funding from the state. Again something the district no control over.
These are just two of the many things districts have no control of (I would list more but my fingers are getting tired)
I encourage everyone who has never attended a Board of Education meeting to do so (more than once) ask questions, do some actual research before just using what you heard at the local grocery store or gas station. If you are still not convinced run for a seat on the Board.
Just remember someone paid for our educations while we attended school so lets return the favor for our children.
Mr. Palumbo,
When you ask the board about how they got in that financial situation, and they give you the answer, why do you just sit there with a blank stare?
The voucher system is unbelievably unfair, and those parents that have cheated the system and enrolled their kids in Liberty schools for as little as 30 days to receive the voucher should be publicly shamed for their blatant disregard for the citizens of our community.
FD
Silence?? Am I at a board meeting?