Prepared Text for Board Meeting –
Marc A. Schare
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Tonight, the Worthington
Board of Education will take the first steps in solving three problems that
have plagued the district for years - the lack of funds for essential repairs
to facilities and buses, the lack of funds for the purchase and implementation
of new technology, and the commingling (some would say contamination) of
capital needs funds into the operating budget general fund. While we take the
first step, the ultimate decision will reside, as always, with the taxpayers of
the
Let me start by addressing
the lack of an operating levy. Sometimes, the biggest story is not what we do,
but what we don’t, and the lack of an operating levy in 2006 is the biggest
financial story of the evening. Who would have guessed back in May, when 7000
people voted against the levy, that we would not, as a routine matter, put the
question back before the voters in November?
To be sure, the delay of
the operating levy is equal parts luck and intent, but its significance goes
far beyond the 8 million dollar shift over 2 years that enabled us to avoid the
ballot in 2006. It signals a willingness on the part of the administration to
search for efficiencies and new ways of doing things, as well as a recognition
that ‘business as usual’ was detrimental to the long term interests of the district.
More than anything else, this should tell the community that this board,
Superintendent Conrath and Treasurer Boyd are serious
about addressing the concerns that led to the levy defeat in May.
As to the bond issue, I will be supporting the placement of the levy
on the ballot. As most of you know, I do not support levys easily, however, the
district has issues that need to be addressed and the bond issue is the most
taxpayer-friendly way to address them.
Let’s start with buses. According
to a 2002 study by the National Association of State Directors for Pupil
Transportation Services, School Buses should be replaced after at most 15
years. We are not replacing buses because George Sontag
enjoys new bus shopping, we are replacing them because they are costly to
repair and they will turn into safety hazards. New buses will also reduce
pressure on the operating budget due to increased fuel efficiency and less need
of repair, to say nothing of the cleaner environment for kids.
Moving on to facilities,
like most of the community, I question how a 5.5 million dollar allocation for facilities
identified in February turned into 18.75 million dollars, however, it is
obvious that the district has non-trivial facility upgrade and repair
requirements. With sufficient oversight from a community advisory board, I feel
confident that the district will be able to appropriately size and prioritize
our facilities needs.
With regard to technology,
I am genuinely excited by the prospects that an infusion of technology dollars
can bring to our district. While I am totally against the idea that we simply
replace old computers with new computers and do exactly what we are doing now,
I have confidence that our IT department, administration and teachers can put
that money to all kinds of creative uses. It’s my hope that rather than simply
doling the money out, we ask our teachers for their best ideas as to how
technology can improve the classroom experience, then have a community or
district task force review the ideas and fund the ones that are most in line
with the values and aspirations of the district.
Finally, with regard to
cost shifting, the Worthington taxpayer should understand that the 10 million
dollars that will be cost shifted out of the general fund over 5 years is money
that they would be spent anyway, so this money is directly reducing the size of
the next operating levy, essentially trading millage next year for millage in
2015.
The
Let me close by thanking
the Superintendent, Treasurer, Paul Cynkar, Tim Gehring
and Keith Schlarb for their patience. Keith went the extra mile taking Jennifer
and I on a tour of Worthington Kilbourne and