Worthington schools leaders had asked residents of the district which cuts they'd support if a November operating levy fails.

 

Last week, Superintendent Melissa Conrath presented the school board with a budget-reduction proposal that included many suggestions.

The 1,000 respondents surveyed supported a host of items officials plan to cut if voters reject a 6.9-mill incremental levy Nov. 3.

They include eliminating administrative and support positions, reducing extended days for deans and counselors and slashing building and department budgets.

But the superintendent's proposal also includes a list of reductions -- many of which residents surveyed want preserved -- that could be implemented if needed to resolve a $14 million deficit in two years. They include eliminating the band and strings programs at the elementary schools, as well as field trips, middle-school and freshman-level sports, and middle-school extracurricular activities. Elementary art, music or physical education positions would be reduced.

"They are the things that make our district special and they are the items that the kids enjoy," board member Jennifer Best said. "They are also things we don't have to offer. We are at the point where we don't have the funding for our expenses. We don't have any other choice. My hope is we would never have to go into the additional items."

Even if the levy passes, the district would still need to shave $4 million from its budget just to stretch dollars for at least three years. A loss at the polls would require the district to phase in Conrath's recommendations, which could be approved by the board this week.

"This will significantly change the breadth of opportunities and the level of quality that we have provided for the Worthington students," Conrath said.

If the operations levy is approved in November, it would raise tax bills in three phases. In 2010, 3.9 mills would be collected, then another 1.5 mills in 2011 and another 1.5 mills in 2012. The owner of a $100,000 home would pay another $119 in taxes in 2010, then an additional $46 in each of the next two years. .

Officials said the district's funding has been virtually flat over the past five years, though expenditures have risen.

Administrators will spend the year on efficiency studies. They want to restructure the middle schools, where enrollment among each of the four buildings averages around 340 students.

They also want to see if reconfiguring the elementary schools into pairs of K-2 and 3-6 buildings would save money.

John Herrington, whose group Educate Worthington has advocated for a change in school spending, said what's on the reduction list is not as important as why the extra money is needed.

He said program cuts have become necessary to afford the 3 percent to 9 percent annual raises for staff, their nearly free health care, and the generous retirement plans typical in public education today.

"Unless we can all agree to fundamental change in the rapidly rising salary and benefit costs that account for 80 to 90 percent of district budgets, students' educational opportunities will be further sacrificed," he wrote in an e-mail.

cboss@dispatch.com