After watching a 6.9 mill levy go down to defeat in the May 2010 election, the Kettering City School District has changed its tack. The district has scaled back its tax request to 4.9 mills and has cut $2.25 million from its budget as it prepares to put the levy on the November 2, 2010 ballot.
"This 4.9 mill levy is two mills lower than the May levy, representing a reduction of $2.7 million dollars per year in revenue for the district," Superientendent Dr. Jim Schoenlein said, adding that to offset the loss of anticiapted revenue, the district has made cuts, including the closing of Moraine Meadows Elementary School, dropping staff and more.
"Reductions have been made in the administrative staff, the teaching staff, and in clerical, custodial, and aide positions," Schoenlein said.
Cuts include the elimination of the position of Trent Arena Manager-Kettering Education Foundation Executive Director and the reduction of one Director from the District Board Office staff. An assistant principal at Kettering Middle School and the district's Data Coordinator, both currently positions held by retiring employees, will not be filled.
Other cuts include three high school teachers, 3.5 elementary school teachers, two gifted program teachers and one teacher from the alternative school. One counselor position and a pre-school teacher have also been trimmed from the budget.
According to Schoenlein, the cuts will save the district about a million and a half dollars, but other employees will also need to be laid off to trim the budget more.
"As stated during the May levy campaign, $7.6 million has been cut from the school budget over the last four years," Schoenlein said. "Combined with these cuts, that means that almost $10 million has been eliminated from the budget over the last five years.
"In the last levy vote in May, a majority of the voters said that the district should reduce spending, tighten its belt and get by on less," he continued. "We are doing that."
The levy will be voted on as part of the November 2 election.
