Tax and spend

As I walked into the Hilltop Branch of the Columbus Library on 5-10-2011, I was asked to sign a petition to repeal SB 5. The volunteer had a table set up outside. I told him that I was a registered Republican voter; supported Gov. Kasich.

When I asked him where the monies would come from to fill the current $8 billion dollar hole, pointing out that the pain had to be distributed. He remarked, 'raise taxes.'

Need I say anymore?

Steve Vargo, Columbus

State workers' pensions not sustainable at current rates

Published: Wednesday, May 11, 2011

To the Editor:

Ohio's education system accounts for three-fifths of the $66 billion in unfunded pension liabilities. Each taxpayer owes $5,700 to cover the present promised debt, over and above any or all taxes presently being paid.

I was a union steelworker before coming here. We had the same problem -- millions in unfunded pension liabilities. Our union demanded similar pensions and the company obliged. Needless to say, those liabilities were unsustainable. To make a long story short, the company could not pay. The pension plan was eliminated, and we all have no pensions as a result. Yet our tax dollars are being spent to sustain similar schemes that we know are not sustainable.

The degree of compensation, perks and benefits are astounding, even to me -- a union member. Those 55 or older with 25 years' service receive full retirement benefits, while those with 30 years' service receive full benefits regardless of age. Most STRS retirees make a minimum $35,000 yearly pension, plus taxpayer subsidies. This is far more generous than our union pension system that could not be sustained and does not exist anymore.

If a superintendent retires at age 52 while earning $100,000 per year, his pension is $64,000 a year. He is then rehired for the same position, double dips and retires at age 65 with a $1.6 million pension package. In 2009, 1,100 STRS members retired with a $67,000 a year pension, then returned to school, earning another $70,000 to $100,000 a year at their double-dip jobs.

When asking $30,000 per year, working-class wage earners (who have no pension or health care) to fund this with their tax dollars, the elephant in the room becomes apparent.

Do we manage benefits at a sustainable level, or pass the buck to taxpayers funding this unsustainable legacy cost?

Ronaldo Gasparini

High schools take brunt of budget cuts

Wednesday, May 11, 2011 11:53 AM By CANDY BROOKS ThisWeek Community Newspapers

The Worthington Board of Education on May 9 went through a long list of cuts to be expected in several areas of operation.

Thirty-three positions will be eliminated from the Worthington schools over the next year in an effort to cut spending.

The cuts will hit hardest at the high schools, where 14 classroom teaching positions will be eliminated.

Also being cut from the high schools will be auditorium managers, activities directors, parking-lot attendants, science-lab set-up assistants and security monitors from both high schools, in addition to the book-room attendant from Thomas Worthington.

The Phoenix Middle School principal's position also will be eliminated next year, and seven positions will be cut from the central administration.

Board member David Bressman warned that additional cuts would come and that they would not be popular.

The cuts are expected to save about $900,000, district spokesperson Vicki Gnezda said.

The figure does not include the savings from nine of the classroom positions, which already were included in the financial forecast.

Only half of the cost of the additional five teachers will be felt next year because of the reduction-in-force (RIF) rules that are part of the teachers' contracts. That calls for each teacher to receive half of his or her salary during the first year of unemployment with the district.

The district faces decreasing income because of losses that probably will be written into the state budget and decreasing property values across the district.

The district stands to lose nearly $1.4 million per year in state foundation funding under the proposed state budget.

It will lose even more if the phase-out of the reimbursement from tangible personal property tax is accelerated at the rate proposed. Approximately $7 million will be lost over the next two years.

Another $400,000 is lost each year because of electric deregulation, which went into effect several years ago.

Worthington schools treasurer Jeff McCuen also projects that property values will decrease 5 percent, resulting in a loss of $900,000 to the district each year.

Last October, McCuen said the district would need a 10-mill operating levy in 2012, but school board members on May 9 said they are determined to cut spending to make sure the millage is not that high.

Even the Linworth Alternative Program and the Phoenix School will be considered for elimination, Bressman said, adding that he probably would receive phone calls from people supporting each.

"Everything has to be on the table," he said.

That will be true after an audit of the district's secondary schools, expected to be started in June. The audit will look at the skills and knowledge the district expects its graduates to possess when they graduate and how the schools could best be structured to meet those expectations.

Board member Charlie Wilson asked if combining the two high schools would be considered. He emphasized that he does not favor such a move.

Yes, said Mark Glasbrenner, who was acting as superintendent during the board meeting because Melissa Conrath was not present. Any such change would require the input of the community, he said.

Eight community members, including several high school students, addressed the board about their concerns.

Among the teaching positions to be eliminated are one from the art department of Thomas Worthington and one from Worthington Kilbourne.

Art classes will be larger and some students will not be served because of the cuts, the teachers and students said.

Chad Ellwood is senior class president at Worthington Kilbourne. He didn't know he liked art until he took it as an elective, he said. Now he has taken three years of ceramics, and the loss of opportunity for students will be felt, he said.

"Art is a lot of the reason some students come to school," he said.

Students and teachers spoke against the elimination of the auditorium manager positions.

They are needed to take care of the sophisticated equipment in the auditoriums, the students said. Not only will productions not be as good without them, but there also could be safety problems created, they said.

Board's proposed staff cuts frustrate teachers, students

Board members say cuts are 'distasteful' but necessary to lower amount of planned '12 levy

By PAMELA WILLIS Published: Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Fourteen teachers' jobs are at risk if a budget-cut proposal is approved by the Worthington school board.

An art teacher said the cuts could slice 30 percent of the visual arts program at both high schools, and several students and teachers protested cuts eliminating activities directors, auditorium technical directors and library assistants.

The students and teachers spoke at the Monday, May 9 board meeting to protest the proposed cuts.

Worthington Kilbourne High School senior Ben Neiger said the technical directors at Kilbourne "perform a vital role in concerts, plays and school assemblies."

"Our school rivals many colleges in its technical equipment," he said. "It is not safe to have people on stage without the supervision of the auditorium technician."

Teacher Erin Johnson said earlier this month, after announcing art students who were selected for the top 25 Student Governor's Award of Excellence for artwork, that "it is alarming that the high school visual art programs at both high schools could be cut next year by 30 percent."

Teacher Melinda Rosenberg said Thomas art teachers will be cut from 3.7 teachers to 2.7.

"We will have to cut general art for next year so that 78 students will have to take something else," she said. "We are mostly full in other art courses -- we have far more students registered for art than can take art.

She said Worthington Kilbourne will lose a teacher as well, and 180 students will be "displaced."

"Usually cuts like these come after a levy has failed," Rosenberg said. "The community supported visual arts in the last community survey. We value the arts and the role they play in a humanities education. It's not wise to have these opportunities disappear without input from the community."

Assistant Superintendent Mark Glasbrenner said budget cuts are necessary to get the school district to the next "reasonable levy request," which is expected to be needed in 2012.

He said Treasurer Jeff McCuen's October 2010 forecast showed a need either for a 7.5-mill levy in 2011 or a 10-mill levy in 2012.

Since the district is committed to staying off the ballot until 2012 and a 10-mill levy is "not reasonable," then budget reductions are necessary, Glasbrenner said.

"It is a difficult balance," he said. "How do we stay accountable and at the same time do the right thing for our district and taxpayers? It is not fun work to determine significant high school reductions and there is no formula for coming up with what those reductions should be."

McCuen said the economy is "either still in a recession or in a slow recovery."

He said the district will lose $1.4 million a year of state foundation money, along with $6.6 million over two years from the tangible property tax phase-out.

Those losses, plus increasing health insurance and fuel costs and rising community school tuition are adding up to too many losses, he said.

The district also is projected to lose $900,000 per year due to decreasing property values.

"If we want to put a reasonably sized levy on the ballot in 2012, we need to make some budget reductions," McCuen said.

The proposed reductions would eliminate the two activity directors at the high schools, the auditorium managers, parking lot attendants, science lab setup personnel, a book room attendant, security monitoring personnel, the coordinator of human resources, the coordinator of gifted services, one employee in financial services, mentor coordinator, library assistants and one computer services help-desk staff member.

Leslie Ritter, music teacher at Granby Elementary School, said she would be afraid to take Granby students to Worthington Kilbourne to perform their yearly musical if the auditorium technicians are eliminated.

"Thousands of pounds of equipment are literally hanging over the students' heads," she said. "I would not choose to take my students there without and auditorium technical expert present."

Several other students and teachers also spoke to board members about the elimination of the activities directors, which they called "vital" to the schools and the elimination of the other positions.

The list is a proposal only, so board members did not vote to approve the cuts.

Board President Marc Schare said some cuts are necessary, though.

"There is a direct correlation to cuts we make and the size of the next operating levy," he said. "This process, while distasteful, is necessary."

Pension system, not workers, under fire

Hilliard School Levy Video (if you look closely enough, you will see a famous graph!)

Olentangy schools

In his response to my letter to the editor ("Anti-levy letter was short of facts"), Olentangy superintendent Wade Lucas was less than forthright in his statements.

According to the district's recent Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the district moved $12.2 million in bond residuals to the permanent improvement fund in 2010. According to a report prepared for the district by the financial firm R.W. Baird and Co., that money is not being directed toward capital investments or improvements. The money remains bond residuals regardless the name of fund it resides in today.

Lucas obfuscates when responding to my claim regarding forecasted salary increases. All the increase numbers are reported in the district's five-year financial report prepared by Lucas and staff, yet Lucas refuses to detail each.

I challenge Lucas to search the Department of Taxation website for a definition of tax effort that differs from the one I used.

I agree with Lucas that the district can reduce its forecast by at least $4.5 million. That is why I suggest the district come back in November with a reduced levy.

Jim Fedako, Lewis Center

Editorial: Bipartisan effort

Democrats, too, are reining in the costs of public-employee benefits

Friday, April 29, 2011

The Columbus Dispatch

On Tuesday night, the Massachusetts House of Representatives followed the lead of legislatures in Ohio and Wisconsin in voting to limit the collective-bargaining rights of public-employee unions.

The measure would reduce the ability of police officers, teachers and city employees to bargain for health-care benefits. The aim, as in Ohio, is to save millions of dollars for hard-pressed local governments.

States don’t come bluer than the home state of the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. Democrats hold supermajorities in both chambers of the state legislature. This sticks a fork in the idea that the cost of public employees’ benefits is of concern only to Republicans.

States are in deep financial trouble. Unlike the federal government, the majority of states are required to balance their budgets. The burgeoning cost of providing health benefits to public workers and the enormous unfunded public-pension obligations are genuine and significant fiscal problems.

In order to rein in those costs, lawmakers in states where unions have gained the upper hand in negotiations needed to regain management rights.

If these efforts constitute a "war on the middle class," as public-employee unions like to claim, then the war enjoys bipartisan support. Democrats around the country are joining in:

• California Gov. Jerry Brown has introduced a 12-point plan to reduce the state’s enormous unfunded public-pension liability. California’s teachers’ retirement fund alone has a $56 billion gap between assets and future payouts to retirees.

His proposals include capping future pensions, raising the retirement age and switching retirement benefits to a hybrid of pensions and 401(k)-style investments.

• North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue proposed in her budget a couple of months ago to eliminate 10,000 state-employee jobs, 3,000 of them currently occupied.

In 2009, she also signed a law that dramatically changed the health-care benefits of public employees, increasing their deductibles, co-pays and premiums without asking the unions’ permission.

But then, Perdue doesn’t have to worry about public-employee collective bargaining because North Carolina doesn’t allow it.

• In mid-April, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo won a battle with the state’s law-enforcement union to impose higher health-care contributions, a three-year pay freeze and no automatic step increases.

This isn’t exclusively a blue or a red approach to the problem. State lawmakers and governors of both parties are beginning to recognize that they must bring labor costs in line with revenues.

Levy passage inspires district to open wallet

Tuesday, April 19, 2011 03:06 AM

In the first year after Canal Winchester Local School District residents approved a two-year, 14.82-mill property-tax increase, in May 2009, district salaries increased by $1,226,243, with another $150,496 in “extra pay.” The taxpayers also are to pay $169,108 for 52 coaches. In addition, the district has spent $93,750 on 21 positions that include faculty managers, employees for cheerleading, the weight room and band and a sports secretary for those positions.

The March 30 Dispatch editorial “Pay to play” spoke of the need for boosters to start covering these expenses so that they do not fall upon the taxpayers. The Groveport Madison Local School District recently announced it is reducing administrators. Canal Winchester could being doing the same.

The school website insinuates that our teachers are at the bottom of the school systems when it comes to pay. I found that on the 2009-2010 payroll listing of 219 teachers, 175 teachers were way over the $41,464 that a teacher gets for a bachelor’s degree with five additional credit hours. If you look at the $33,630 figure for just a bachelor’s degree, you can add more teachers. That means that more than 79.9 percent of our teachers are getting more than shown on the website. That is nice pay for 182 official working days.

Superintendent Kimberley Miller-Smith planned to seek another levy in November, but the school board has decided not to do that now. If voters approve the May 3 levy, don't believe that you won't see another levy mentioned in the near future.

The schools have to start living within their budgets or we need another system for them to receive money. Homeowners and renters cannot keep paying these taxes. Vote no on May 3. Otherwise it will never stop.

LARRY BIGLER

Canal Winchester

Senate Bill 5 would even public, private sectors

Published: Wednesday, April 13, 2011

To the Editor:

It came as no surprise when Warren Orloff, a highly paid local educator, provided glowing support for Worthington teacher compensation and stated his opposition to Senate Bill 5 in his letter "Many hats provide insight on local, state, federal taxes" (Worthington News, March 30).

His gloom and doom "domino effect" argument (that good teachers will leave, sending the quality of education downward and resulting in lower property values) was also predictable.

Orloff's argument that well-qualified teachers are irreplaceable is nothing more than fear mongering.

In Ohio alone, there are 130 school districts with an "excellent" or better state performance rating that are paying teachers well below the $75,000 average salary paid to Worthington teachers. What's more, the layoff of teachers nationally clearly provides a well-qualified base, most willing to come to work in Worthington for less than what's paid to Worthington teachers.

In terms of Senate Bill 5, my sense is that Orloff would have a different perspective if he had experienced the pain of the private sector. However, instead of layoffs, salary cuts, increased benefits costs and reduced employer retirement plan contributions, he continues to enjoy guaranteed employment and pay raises, along with a cushy healthcare package and a pension plan funded predominantly by cash strapped taxpayers.

With Senate Bill 5, those in the public sector will finally be required to make some of the same concessions that those in the private sector experienced years ago. In addition to providing significant taxpayer relief, the legislation will also put an end to the myth that good teachers are irreplaceable.

Guy Molde

OEA assessment erodes trust in labor

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

After reading last Wednesday’s Dispatch article “SB 5 supporters slow to organize,” I had to comment. I refer to the statement: “Labor leaders are galvanized for war — and with more than $5 million available just from the Ohio Education Association, should it approve a plan to charge its members a one-time assessment of $50 to support the referendum.”

This was not a donation, as I would expect, but an actual charge to their members, who for the most part are predominately paid with local or state tax dollars.

Isn’t there something wrong with this picture — when an organization can decide to charge any public employee the amount that it deems appropriate, to pursue a referendum that the individual member might not support, and one that the local taxpaying public also might not support fully? Such funding practices, where the Ohio Education Association can charge this assessment instead of requesting donations and then use these collected funds to specifically influence legislative actions, is totally inappropriate.

And likely, these practices will further damage the trust between the taxpaying public and the loyal and qualified public employees in their community.

MICHAEL J. POMPILI

Reynoldsburg

Teachers union enjoys cash pipeline

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

It is shocking to hear that the Ohio Education Association is considering charging its members an additional fee to cover the costs of its political agenda (“Unions look to bankroll SB 5 vote,” Dispatch article, last Tuesday). According to its financial disclosures, the OEA collects nearly $63 million in forced dues. Is this not enough to appease its political agenda?

Ohio teachers must pay the OEA membership dues and fees as a condition of employment. Senate Bill 5 would see that teachers are given the liberty to make that choice for themselves.

The OEA sees Senate Bill 5 as a threat to its pipeline of cash, not an assault on the “rights” of teachers.

The teachers of Ohio deserve the chance to evaluate their membership for themselves, not another required fee to support a partisan agenda.

GARY BECKNER, Executive director, Association of American Educators, Mission Viejo, Calif.

There's still room for Gahanna schools to cut back

Saturday, April 9, 2011 03:07 AM

How many times do we as taxpayers in Gahanna need to say no to an additional tax levy for the schools? The levy has been defeated two times in the past year, and yet here we go again. Yet a third time on the ballot in a one-year span. Putting an issue on the ballot costs money, and these are our tax dollars at work.

How many Advanced Placement courses and elective options should we be required to fund? Why is this the first year that pay–to-play appears to be coming to the Gahanna school system? The majority of other districts have already had this plan in place. The teachers have approved step and salary freezes, two furlough days and an increase in health-insurance co-payments.

State workers have had 10 furlough days and no step increases for the past two years, plus increased co-payments and other changes to the employer-sponsored health care. Many of us of us in the private sector have had up to three years with no increase in salary.

The deductibles, co-insurance, office-visit and prescription co-payments on health insurance have all increased while our employers have reduced the percentage that they pay to 50 percent of the employee-only rate. The cost of medical coverage has been increasing an average of 20 percent for the past three years.

We had no say on the purchase of land or construction of the additional classroom space across from Lincoln High School. In a period of declining real-estate values, the price paid for the land was well above the appraisal. Did we get to say yes or no to the deal? We all are aware of the answer to that one.

I agree that we should guarantee an excellent basic education for our youth. Since when does this premise entail courses that will count toward college credit or electives that go far above the concept of a basic education? I do not say that these types of courses are not valuable, but why do we as taxpayers absorb this cost?

Would Gahanna schools be in a far better financial situation if we instituted a pay-to-learn cost for courses and activities that fall outside the parameters of a good basic education?

We face an additional levy on this upcoming May ballot for fire and emergency services in Mifflin Township. It appears we will also face a proposed tax increase for the city of Gahanna in the not-so-distant future.

The overreliance on property taxes to fund the schools already has been deemed unconstitutional. When are we as the taxpayers going to say “enough” and force the legislature of our great state to fund another way? It may be when the property owners of Gahanna flee the city for places where we can actually afford to live.

I say no to Issue 6 for the third time in a year. When will our school officials understand that no means no? Perhaps they need to go back to school.

GINNIE ANDREWS

Gahanna

Kasich simply trying to rescue our state

Sunday, April 10, 2011 03:19 AM

When the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union protests that Gov. John Kasich wants to squash public-sector unions, it shows its true self-centered focus and consummate greed.

Kasich is trying to balance the budget, and public employees’ wage and benefit costs are the single biggest expense that we taxpayers shell out.

Our state is in an economic tailspin, and the governor and many legislators are trying to prevent our fiscal airplane from crashing.

For public-union members to reject any talk of adjustments to their pay and benefits is to court disaster for Ohio.

We need to take a hard look at state pay and benefit levels.

We also should stop the practice of public-employees unions negotiating with their political cronies and then rewarding those cronies with big campaign contributions.

It’s disgusting and corrupt.

And it sure doesn’t wear well with taxpayers like me.

LEE GUSE

Groveport

Candidates benefit from teachers’ dues

Monday, April 11, 2011 03:06 AM

I respond to the Tuesday letter “Teachers don't have to back candidates” from Debra Minto, who claimed that union dues are not spent on campaign contributions. She presented only part of the story.

I am a educational-support professional. Recently, I contacted my local union representatives to find out how much of my annual dues is spent on political matters. When the local union personnel could not find the answer, I contacted the Ohio Education Association. I was referred to the August 2010 issue of our OEA publication, Ohio Schools, which has a list of how dues are allocated by the OEA and the National Education Association (our local dues include membership in these organizations, too).

While Minto might be correct that her local dues do not go toward political purposes on a mandatory basis, the state and national dues do. I was told by yet another union representative out of the Westerville OEA office that the only way to avoid the political contributions was to not join the union, pay the “fair-share” fee and petition, for religious reasons only, that your portion of the fair-share fee used for these purposes be waived. I was told there are four approved charities that the money can be applied to. A study posted by OpenSecrets.org listed the top U.S. political donors for the years 1989-2010 and the National Education Association was No. 8 on the list, with more than $32 million in political donations, 93 percent of which went to Democrats and 3 percent to Republicans.

It is misleading to say education-union dues don't support political candidates.

MAUREEN J. SULLIVAN Dublin

LETTER: Superintendent's, teachers' contracts should be similar

Published: Thursday, April 7, 2011

To the Editor:

I'm writing in response to John Herrington's letter, titled "Union members should reconsider what's 'fair' " (Worthington News, March 16).

Herrington writes a good letter. Negotiate a new contract with the teachers' union in which teachers pay 25 percent of their health insurance premium and agree to no raises other than those based on merit.

They're good ideas, but tough negotiations. The teachers need to do this for the good of the community. Teachers need to sacrifice. The new superintendent in order to be credible will have to sit down at the negotiation table and say, "I pay 25 percent of my health insurance premiums; my contract has no automatic raises and I make less than the last superintendent." Then teachers will know that we are serious.

The teachers' union will have a copy of the superintendent's contract to review. Once it is signed the contract is a public record. Shouldn't the same rules apply to the administration as well as the teachers?

When the new superintendent's contract is completed residents should make a public records request and make sure the new superintendent has a contract that reflects what taxpayers are expecting from teachers.

John Patterson

Ohio taxpayers are in denial over budget

Wednesday, April 6, 2011 03:08 AM

What would I do if I were Gov. John Kasich? I would accept that many Ohioans were raised spoiled, selfish and self-centered. These Ohioans refuse to accept that Ohio is broke.

Also, they think you can print money and steal from the rich and pay all deficits and debts of Ohio. Finally, they believe that they should not have to sacrifice at all.

The taxpayers should pay and keep their mouths shut. After all, this spoiled group feels it is entitled to the good life. Kasich should resign and walk away. He and many others know that the state’s expenditures are unsustainable. Ohio will collapse financially in the next few years.

He should take his family and move to another state to avoid the inevitable future of Ohio. His family is more important than Ohio.

AUSTIN COULSON Zanesville

[Thank you, Mr. Coulson...spot on.  EW]

Union members have become the “haves”

Tuesday, April 5, 2011 03:06 AM

Historically, unions give poor and disenfranchised employees an opportunity to unite to protest mistreatment from their rich and powerful employers.

Unions are like the ants in one of my kids' favorite movies, A Bug's Life. The grasshoppers wanted to come and steal the food that the ants made, and they kept them subservient through fear and threats. But when the ants united, they became a powerful force to defend themselves against the grasshoppers' exploitation. The ants wanted to keep what they earned and didn't want someone else to benefit from their hard work.

What we're seeing in Wisconsin and in Ohio is not the ants protesting the grasshoppers in the Statehouse. Not at all. The media continually refers to these protests as pro-union, when these protests are a completely different phenomenon altogether. This is the state workers protesting the voters. These protesters don't want a level playing field, they want to keep it unlevel. Find out how much the managers and employees of the state make, discover their benefits, and compare it with their counterparts in the private sector. The protesters are the grasshoppers, who want more money and benefits for less work, enabled by the politicians who need their votes and who want to meet their demands at the ants' expense.

The ants are the voters, who put legislators in office to cut spending. The ants want less of what Frederic Bastiot calls “legal plunder.” The ants want less raiding of their bank accounts for the bloated budgets and overpaid employees of the state. The ants are the overtaxed workers in the free market, who frequently work harder for much less money and benefits than their state-subsidized counterparts.

It's the taxpayers who should form a union to protest the state's lust for more of our wealth, by working to put the opponents of Ohio Senate Bill 5 out of office. That's more in keeping with historical union philosophy.

PATRICK JOHNSTON

Dresden

Unions members should reconsider what's 'fair'

To the Editor:

Based on recent events at statehouses in Ohio (Senate Bill 5) and Wisconsin, it appears that citizens across this country are waking to a fiscal reality: Our public sector unions are dangerously close to killing the golden goose ... the taxpayer that pays their wages.

On a more local level, at a Worthington schools community information session, residents were recently told they will have to "share" in rising district costs and the eventual loss of state revenue.

However, given the regular levy hikes, the ongoing cuts to student programs and a recent New York Times article showing Worthington residents losing their jobs (and putting 22 percent of our kids on the federal lunch program), it is clear that the community and our students have already shared in the pain. Has the local union shared equally in the sacrifice?

The average salary for our 730 respected teachers has risen over $5,000 in the last two years to $75,400 (a level now attained in just 13 years). This doesn't include the cost of generous health care and pension benefits, or the dollar value of 14 weeks of vacation time.

To be fair, teachers union members have accepted some limited changes to their contract in recent years. For example, union members are now paying 14 percent of health care premiums, despite that most workers pay 25 percent or more.

The bottom line is that passing the rising salary and benefit costs on to residents in the form of larger and more frequent levies is simply unfair. At the same time, laying-off newer teachers to keep the unions from accepting necessary concessions, or cutting ever more programs/services for our 9,500 students are equally unfair.

So the important question is this: Will the unions in Worthington and across Ohio agree to be a part of the solution to the state budget challenge and the school spending crisis? Time will tell. We hope they will take a good, long look at financial reality. This means looking at their members, at their communities and at the students, and then doing the right thing.

John Herrington

co-founder, EducateWorthington.org

Letter: Nonunion workers adjusted or moved on

Wednesday, March 16, 2011 

I am 87 and never have belonged to a union. Should I have?

I was a bookkeeper for several companies. When I went to work, they told me what my wages would be, and I agreed to work under the conditions that they described. As time passed, I would be given raises and bonuses, etc.

If I had not been given a raise that I thought I deserved and my employer could afford, or if the temperature in the office wasn't good, or the workload got too heavy or there were other conditions I did not like, I would tell my employer. If things did not change, I would either adapt or get a better job someplace else.

If my work had not been good, the owner would have told me so, and I might have been laid off (which I never was).

Should I have had a union to force the employer to pay me more or change conditions, even if it caused him to lose money and maybe go bankrupt? I do not understand why people with jobs stand around in front of our Statehouse and complain when there are so many unemployed.

What don’t I understand? Should I have belonged to a union?

MAXINE BARTELT

Columbus

Letter: Public workers should contribute more

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

I hope more people will get behind Senate Bill 5. It is time for all local and state employees to wake up and understand that they can not continue to receive their current benefits package without making more of a contribution themselves.

I contribute 50 percent of my health-insurance premiums provided by my employer, far more than any public employee. I do not have a pension with my employer. I worked for Kmart from 1985 to 2001, and my pension was frozen in 1995. In 2006, 8.2 percent of Fortune 500 companies froze or closed their pension plans, and another 3 percent did so in 2007.

In the Sunday Dispatch article “Public-employee benefits stir envy,” Hetting Rosenstein was quoted as saying, “There's pension envy because people who are working in the private sector, they're being denied pensions.” Many companies have chosen to reduce pensions instead of laying off workers.

How many companies will let you bank sick time? A group of fire and police officials who recently retired from Columbus collected hundreds of thousands of dollars in unused sick and vacation time. One person had more than 3,000 hours. Why should taxpayers have to pay for this? Give these employees a fair amount of days to use per year. They should not accumulate from year to year.

I really do not think the private sector is envious about the benefits as much as it is mad about the workers’ sense that they are somehow entitled to these benefits at our expense.

Vote yes for Senate Bill 5.

FRANK MESSMER

Grove City

Letter: Educators' group was misportrayed

Wednesday, March 16, 2011 

The March 4 Forum column “Should Ohio law require teachers to pay union?” by Patricia Frost-Brooks was full of inaccuracies about the Association of American Educators’ goals and policy positions.

As a member of the nonunion association for teachers, I know AAE does not support vouchers or any policy that defunds public schools. More than 95 percent of our members are public-school teachers. It supports all teachers via professional benefits and services without a political agenda.

AAE takes positions on education policy only after members have been surveyed, unlike the Ohio Education Association. While I no longer am a member of the OEA, I have been forced to pay union dues. As a result, I have directly funded political attack advertisements against my husband, a state representative. If Senate Bill 5 is passed, my hope is teachers may choose where to spend their hard-earned dollars.

JADE THOMPSON Marietta

Letter: Teachers and unions

Teachers always gave me the impression of intelligent, learned and above all, dedicated people, whose calling it was to prepare the next generation for the duties of life. The mass demonstration at the State House in Columbus and Madison have shaken my belief in this picture to the core. Shouting and placard-carrying professionals have never been my favorite type of people, especially, if their shouts and poster texts are utterly unreasonable. Amongst these unruly and apparently ignorant demonstrators must be some biology and physics teachers who could explain to their ignorant colleagues that one cannot squeeze blood out of a stone. However loud they shout and however unrealistic their posters read, at the end of the day, Ohio, Wisconsin and most other states still face a multi-billion dollar budget short fall, which has to be closed. If any company or family faces a budget crisis, they will have to make adjustments. States and municipalities should not be any different.

The current problems are not the fault of the teachers, but of their unions, who have driven their respective states to the brink of bankruptcy. If the big cities like New York, Los Angeles, Detroit etc are any indication of what unions have created, one only has to read an article in the New Yorker about the stranglehold that the unions have on the city. Similar stories appeared in many other cities and one can assume that Ohio cities are not much different. The hapless tax payer, who has to fund all these excesses, should carefully read the account of the New York City school system at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/08/31/090831fa_fact_brill. It is an eye-opener and will change every reader's mind about the current status of the school systems across the country. No wonder so many states and municipalities are facing a financial disaster.

Erik C. Meyer, Westerville

Letter: Working poor have little to fall back on

Friday, March 11, 2011

Our public workers, who have been referred to as the middle class, have opened the eyes of a sleeping giant: the working poor in the private sector. They take home less than $30,000 a year.

It is staggering to learn about all the benefits, vacation payouts and salaries that we, the working poor, pay public workers. There's no argument that unions once were needed to protect workers from unsafe working conditions and unfair treatment. Over the years, unions grew powerful and they became less about protecting workers and more about getting more.

Every time taxes increase to pay for public-sector perks, some families lose their homes. You buy a home with the plan to have your mortgage paid by the time you retire. The reality is that by the time the owners reach retirement age, the property taxes sometimes are more than double the mortgage payments and the owners lose their homes.

Even if public workers pay more out of their paychecks for their benefits, the fact remains that their paychecks come from the working poor.

RUTH LANNING

Canal Winchester

Letter: Collective bargaining

I would like to a few words to address the issue of collective bargaining and hysteria around State Bill 5. The bottom line is that when you have collective bargaining in the public sector you have unions bargaining with themselves. The unions know that the public sector will not close the school houses, police or fire departments, and they contribute to the elected officials who are "negotiating" with them. So who in this picture representing the taxpayers, who by the way foot the bill for these "negotiations? The answer is no-one. This is NOT about union busting! If in the private sector if a union gets overly aggressive negotiating with a company the company has the choices move or shut down. Unions know this and negotiate accordingly. This is not an option in the public sector.

It is evident in Wisconsin that unions care more for the collective bargaining power than they do their members as they continue to obstruct the law makers as thousands of their members are going to lose their jobs. It is good to see politicians finally coming to the realization that this cannot continue, the states do not have the money. The folks defending the state workers state they have taken pay cuts and I am sure, like myself, they have, but the bigger issue is being able to control costs and be able to get rid of incompetent employees and expensive and wasteful work rules.

In the end once it is enacted it will be better for the state, and we all want the public sector to be fairly compensated, we just don't want to be held hostage.

Rob Brown, Worthington

Editorial: False claim

Public-sector workers are not standing up for Ohio's middle class

Wednesday, February 23, 2011 02:51 AM

The Columbus Dispatch

"Dear Supporter, Now is the time. If ever there was a time to show up, stand up and let our voices be heard, it is now. The fate of Ohio's middle class is on the line at the Ohio Statehouse."

So begins a mass e-mailing from former Gov. Ted Strickland, calling on members of public-sector unions to attend yesterday's Statehouse rally opposing Senate Bill 5, which would eliminate collective bargaining for state government workers and restrict the scope of bargaining for schoolteachers, police, firefighters and other local-government employees.

The idea that the bill is an attack on Ohio's middle class is one being repeated not only by Strickland but by other Democratic leaders and officials of the state's public-sector unions.

The assertion is a flat contradiction of reality.

Not only are the public-sector workers affected by Senate Bill 5 not representative of the majority of Ohio's middle class, but the comfortable wages, automatic raises, benefits, pensions, job protections, sick-day payouts and negotiating power enjoyed by many of these public-sector workers comes at the expense of the vast majority of Ohio's middle-class taxpayers. Most of these taxpayers have nothing remotely like these benefits nor the economic security that the public sector takes for granted and regards as a right.

That public-sector workers are not representative of Ohio's middle class is evident in the numbers. According to the Ohio Legislative Service Commission, Senate Bill 5 will affect 42,000 state workers, 19,500 higher-education employees and about 298,000 employees of local governments such as counties, municipalities, townships and school districts.

That totals 359,500 employees, a mere 6.5 percent of Ohio's workforce of 5.5 million. In fact, the number of public-sector employees is far outnumbered by more than 500,000 Ohioans who want to work but can't find jobs.

Ohioans lucky enough to have jobs pay the taxes that support public-sector wages and benefits. Not only that, but the city councils and school boards that work for these taxpayers are hobbled by state laws and collective-bargaining agreements that act to constantly ratchet up the cost of government, while reducing the ability of elected officials to make shifts in budgets, personnel and policy that could best serve taxpayers.

For example, Senate Bill 5 would allow school-district officials to assign teachers where they are needed most and, in times of budget stress, to lay off teachers based on the needs of students, not the seniority of teachers. By removing health care for teachers as an area of collective bargaining, districts would be free to pursue health-care options that save taxpayers money without having these measures held up by teacher-union resistance and quid-pro-quo demands.

The basic intent of Senate Bill 5 is to restore to the taxpayers and their elected representatives the right to manage the public's business.

And this is a power that some prominent officeholders already have and wield without apology. In November, President Barack Obama called for a two-year freeze on the wages of federal employees, saying that this was part of an effort to reduce federal overspending. He does not have to negotiate with a federal-employee union before imposing the freeze, because most federal employees do not have the right to collectively bargain their salaries, which are set by Congress.

And if Congress and the president have this power, why shouldn't governors, school-board members and city-council members? After all, they face a constraint the president doesn't: the legal requirement that they balance their budgets.

Taxpayers should not be obligated to pony up the ever-increasing salary-and-benefit demands of public-sector workers, even as these taxpayers themselves are taking pay cuts and paying more for health insurance.

There is no question that Senate Bill 5 is about the middle class. But it is not an attack, it is an attempt to restore to Ohio's middle class the control of the government it pays for and elects.

The few thousand public-sector workers who turned out to protest Senate Bill 5 yesterday were not looking out for Ohio's middle class. They were looking out for their own privileged status, one that is out of reach for most Ohio taxpayers.

Editorial: Sad spectacle

Former governor risks being remembered only as a bitter partisan Thursday, February 24, 2011 02:49 AM

The Columbus Dispatch

There is a long tradition in American politics in which an outgoing elected official says his goodbyes and then clears the stage for his successor. Even after bitterly fought campaigns, losing officeholders who take the high road during and after the transition are respected for their graciousness and dignity.

At the very least, this conveys respect for the office, and equally important, it shows respect for the will of the voters who decided that someone new should take the helm.

Typically, these elder statesmen seek new avenues where their experience and understanding can make a difference, in education, policy development, philanthropy and other humanitarian work. President Jimmy Carter's legacy will not be his presidency but the many good works he engaged in afterward.

Sadly, former Gov. Ted Strickland has not taken that high road, instead choosing almost from the moment the November ballots were counted to try to torpedo his successor, Gov. John Kasich.

Of course, this is his prerogative. He is an Ohioan fully entitled to participate in politics and express his views. But most politicians do not choose to end their careers and cap their legacies by engaging in sour-grapes sniping and public efforts to undermine the successor whose administration is barely under way.

He began the attempts to undermine Kasich before Kasich was sworn in. While still occupying the governor's office, Strickland denounced Kasich's intent to roll back the unfunded, educationally unfounded mandates in Strickland's spending blueprint for kindergarten-through-12th-grade education. He also lambasted Kasich's intention to kill the wasteful and ill-conceived 3C rail project.

Last Thursday, Strickland made an appearance at a Statehouse rally against Ohio Senate Bill 5. Then he upped the ante by authoring an e-mail, distributed by the Ohio Democratic Party, urging supporters to join him at another rally at the Statehouse on Tuesday.

At both, he basked in the attention of union supporters.

The adulation is unsurprising, given how consistently Strickland's policies as governor favored organized labor over the interests of all taxpayers. And that is one of the reasons he no longer occupies the governor's mansion.

While hundreds of thousands of jobs were vanishing from Ohio, he found the time to open new doors to union influence - among home health-care workers, at the Ohio School Facilities Commission, and by an attempt to vastly expand the mandate for prevailing wage. Unions were pleased, but today, half a million Ohioans still look in vain for work.

Instead of turning around Ohio as he promised, he kept it on a steady course toward a fiscal abyss, propping up the state budget with $8 billion in one-time money and doing nothing to prepare the state to stand without that artificial prop.

It is he who handed the new governor and legislature the present financial crisis, a crisis that is a major impetus for the drive to reform collective bargaining. And closing this budget shortfall is likely to require punishing cuts in state spending that will harm every Ohioan.

That is the legacy he underlines with each of his partisan attacks. It is not the legacy of a statesman.

Worthington schools' issues stem from teachers union

To the Editor:

I just received in my mailbox the very nice, full-color brochure on Worthington schools, and how the Worthington Board of Education is being judicious with residents' hard-earned tax dollars.

I am sure they are trying, but this is an example of a waste of money. Is this required by the state, and if so, does it need to be in color? How about just posting it in the newspapers and saving all the money and wasted paper? This is not a very "green" approach to the world.

The schools will need to come back to the taxpayers for more money, or our kids will face large cuts in their programs. The main problem in this entire picture is the unions and the strangle hold they have on the district.

If one looks at the Worthington schools calendar, one will see that the district is in session about 42 weeks a year. That means the teachers initially get 10 weeks of vacation each year. But, that's not all. They also get 23 days off during the school year, so now they're up to 121/2 weeks of vacation. And it doesn't stop there. Teachers also have 11 days of early dismissal or late start. I know that on early or late days the teachers probably need to be there, but they are not teaching kids.

If the average salary for a teacher in Worthington is $70,000 a year -- factoring in that they work 76 percent of the year -- that makes for an annual salary of $91,000. On top of that, teachers can retire after 30 years. That would make them around 52 years old. With all the benefits, that is a very sweet deal, considering that they will probably live in their retirement longer than they worked.

The issues with the schools have nothing to do with the programs. They have everything to do with the sweet deals the district has agreed, or been bullied into, by the unions.

Rob Brown

Job cuts hit a Columbus suburb hard

As middle-class Worthington reels, its schools give worried children comfort - and free lunches

Sunday, February 6, 2011 02:58 AM By Michael Winerip New York Times News Service

Leah Kehler in her fourth-grade class at Wilson Hill Elementary in Worthington Andrew Spear | New York Times Leah Kehler in her fourth-grade class at Wilson Hill Elementary in Worthington Eliot Frank in his kindergarten class at Wilson Hill Elementary | Eliot Frank in his kindergarten class at Wilson Hill Elementary Trinity Frank holds a computer mouse during class with other second-graders at Wilson Hill Elementary. Andrew Spear | The New York Times Trinity Frank holds a computer mouse during class with other second-graders at Wilson Hill Elementary.

WORTHINGTON - Diane and Eric Kehler tried not to talk about it in front of the children, but as Jen Hegerty, guidance counselor at Wilson Hill Elementary School, says, "Children have eagle ears."

Kehler lost his $90,000-a-year job as an information-technology manager. And although he and his wife discussed their problems in whispers, eagle ears don't miss much. Their son Mathias, 12, a quiet, cerebral sixth-grader at Wilson Hill, got quieter. "Our house was sort of in a state of despair. We weren't as happy as usual," Mathias said. "I stopped having good ideas to talk about with my friends."

Diane Kehler has a college degree but had chosen to be a stay-at-home mother. That ended. She took a job at McDonald's to cover the cost of groceries. At school, Mathias and his sister, Leah, a fourth grader, qualified for reduced-price lunches.

Keeping all that worry bottled up hurt. While Leah would not tell anyone her worst fear, she told her speech teacher, Shelley Smith, the second worst: that her family would have to move away and Leah would lose her friends. "I was worried and scared and very worried," recalled Leah, who's 10.

She chose Smith to tell because the two have the same, exact birthday and every year they celebrate by eating Smith's homemade cupcakes. "She was just the right person," Leah said. "She's very calm."

The Kehlers have lots of company. While Wall Street is pumping, Main Street bleeds. This middle- to upper-middle-class suburban town of 14,000 bordering Columbus has 22 percent of its students getting subsidized lunches. That's up from 6 percent in 2005, when the economy was booming.

Statewide, 43 percent of Ohio public school students are disadvantaged, as measured by free and reduced-price lunches, compared with 33 percent in 2005, according to a recent survey by KidsOhio, a nonprofit educational organization based in Columbus. A sign of how deep this recession has reached into the middle class: Here in Franklin County, 44 percent of the disadvantaged attend suburban schools, compared with 32 percent five years ago.

There might be other factors involved, including an increase of poorer families moving out of Columbus to the suburbs. But many here - the KidsOhio researchers; the superintendent of Worthington schools, Melissa Conrath; the principal of Wilson Hill, Jamie Lusher - agree that the recession's impact has played a large part.

A few houses down from the Kehlers on Deer Creek Drive, Bill Cameron, who has three children in high school, has been out of work for two years since losing his $119,000-a-year job as a manager at American Electric Power.

Over on Eastland Court, Grace Koo and her now ex-husband, who have two children at Wilson Hill, were both laid off and went from making about $160,000 a year to zero. Koo, who had been a store design and construction director for Limited Brands, attributed the divorce to many things gone wrong, including their sinking economic status. "For months, both of us were home together, unemployed," she said. "We'd fight over money."

On Buck Trail Lane, the Hymers went from $150,000 a year to zero. Their son, Zachary, a second-grader, and their daughter, Kennedy, who's in fourth, qualified for reduced-price lunches. The Hislopes on Friend Street also qualified for reduced-price lunches, but as things worsened - the father, Mike, a shop foreman, has been out of work two years - they qualified for free lunches.

Worthington recently got its first soup kitchen.

The emotional strain on children is plain from the names of the support groups the guidance counselor, Hegerty, has created: the Chicken Little group, the Volcano Management group, the Family Change group.

Even as the district's budget gets cut and class sizes in the school's fourth and fifth grades creep up to 30, the staff at Wilson Hill works to make a difference. While Washington measures a school's worth by test scores, here, on Northland Street, there's more to it.

A few weeks before Christmas, a girl in Smith's class went to school with broken eyeglasses patched together with tape. Each time the girl looked down to read, the glasses fell off. This is a small town, and Smith knew the girl's family was struggling. At 9 a.m., Smith asked to borrow the glasses; during her lunch period she drove to her eye doctor; by 12:30 the girl had new pink and green frames.

Because the guidance counselor position is split between two schools, Hegerty gets overloaded and has found two unpaid interns from nearby universities to help with the caseload.

Most children this age can't verbalize what's wrong, and Hegerty watches their worries seep out in the guise of other problems. "Separation anxiety, nightmares, bed-wetting," she rattles them off, "Obsessive behavior, won't stay in own bed, acting out at school, acting out at home."

Trinity Koo, a second-grader, scratched her arms so much they bled. Her brother, Eliot, was misbehaving in kindergarten.

Hegerty showed them how to make worry envelopes to store their fears. She gave them each a buckeye to carry in their pockets. "If you're feeling bad, you hold it," said Trinity, who's stopped scratching. "You think about stuff, and then 'OK, this is over now, I'm fine.'"

Every day, Eliot's teacher, Regina Malley, starts off each kindergartner with five cubes. If you're bad, she takes away a cube. But if you hold on to all five cubes for the day, you get one prize ticket. After 10 tickets, you get to turn on the classroom computer and sit in the big chair ("It elevates them above everybody," Malley said). Thirty tickets and you get the grand prize, lunch alone with Malley.

For a few days, Eliot was stuck on nine tickets. "Poor Eliot lost a cube today," Malley reported. "He banged a kid on the back of the head."

And then Eliot made a comeback, earning two tickets in two days. As Malley promised, he got to sit in the big chair and was loudly applauded.

Malley has taught kindergarten in the same room for 31 years, and in that time she's learned a thing or two about little boys. She predicts good things for Eliot. "Eliot's very bright," she said. "Even if he listens 50 percent of the time, he's getting 75 percent more than other kids."

While several parents interviewed for this story eventually got jobs, no one was making anything near their old salaries. The Hislopes, Hymers and Kehlers are making half. Koo is making a third. Hislope's two daughters have been able to continue playing sports because their schools waived participation fees and the sports booster clubs helped. The Hislopes were one of 10 families that the middle school picked to give $300 toward Christmas.

It was only during a visit from a reporter that Diane Kehler heard Leah tell her worst fear. "I instantly thought we'd be homeless," Leah said. Every fall the school takes part in the Penny Harvest, collecting for the homeless, and Leah feared that the next harvest would be for her family.

"Really?" Diane Kehler said. Like mother, like daughter. This was Kehler's worst fear, too.

"I didn't know how we'd survive," she said. "I was afraid we'd be homeless under an underpass in Columbus and the kids would go into foster care."

When, after many months, Eric Kehler could not find work, they bought a print cartridge recycling business. It's off to a promising start. The first year, the Kehlers outperformed the previous owner. "We're up 18 percent," Diane Kehler said.

Schare elected president of school board

Wednesday, January 12, 2011 12:04 PM By CANDY BROOKS ThisWeek Community Newspapers

Call it a sign of the times, or a return to fairness on the Worthington Board of Education.

Just make sure you call Marc Schare "Mr. President."

In a move than some board members said would never happen, Schare was elected president of the school board on Monday night.

The vote was 5-0, with even Charlie Wilson agreeing that Schare should lead the school board in 2011.

Wilson voted "no" last year when Schare was elected vice-president.

Two years ago, Schare was passed over for the vice president's position, with board members saying he had "his own agenda" and was not a "consensus builder."

The vice president usually steps into the president's role, and board members generally take turns serving in leadership positions. Schare is starting his sixth year on the board.

He is a fiscally conservative Republican who often prepares lengthy, researched opinions on issues facing the board. His opinions are often at odds with those of Wilson, who usually anchors the board at the other end of the political spectrum.

After Schare was unanimously elected, he moved from his seat at the right end of the board desk, to the president's seat in the middle.

"It has taken a lot to move me off the far right position on the board and into the center," he said.

During the visitor comment portion of the board meeting, former board member Abramo Ottolenghi — who is known for his left-leaning opinions — said he was pleased to see Schare become president of the board.

In his first act as president, Schare nominated Jennifer Best as vice president. She was also unanimously elected.

Schare thanked her for always being willing to answer his questions after he first joined the board in 2006.

"Jennifer Best has been and continues to be my mentor on this board," he said.

cbrooks@thisweeknews.com

Attack ads a new low, even for the OEA

October 11, 2010

I'm Jade Thompson and my husband, Andy Thompson, is running for the Ohio House of Representatives. I am a teacher at Marietta High School. Imagine my chagrin when my friends and colleagues began showing me the awful attack ads against my husband which they had received in the mail. Now imagine my dismay when I saw that those defamatory mailers were paid for by the Ohio Education Association - my teachers' union. In effect, they are using my union dues to attack my husband! This is a new low, even for the OEA.

There was a recent letter to the editor about AEP withdrawing its support from the Ohio Chamber of Commerce because the chamber made a political endorsement. The writer found it "inappropriate and shameful" for that organization to ignore its members. I wonder if she would say the same for the OEA, an organization that endorses the most liberal candidates in the field and which month after month promotes progressive causes and programs in its member newsletter. Are Ohio's teachers that unanimously liberal or does our union simply not represent our views at all? If teachers are representative of the larger voting public then you would expect that our political views would be just as diverse.

Teachers should be free to spend their hard-earned dollars to contribute to the candidates and causes they actually support. The OEA and its parent organization, the NEA, refuse to acquiesce because they have an obvious agenda. After all, as the general counsel for the NEA once said in federal court, "if you take away payroll deduction, you won't collect a penny from these people, and it has nothing to do with voluntary or involuntary. I think it has to do with the nature of the beast, and the beasts who are our teachers ... (They) simply don't come up with the money regardless of the purpose." Teachers, this is what your union thinks of you.

Andy will support a paycheck protection law that prevents teachers' union dues from being used for political propaganda without written permission. The Ohio legislature passed this legislation twice before but the previously liberal Ohio Supreme Court overturned the will of the people. I am hopeful that Andy and a newly elected Conservative majority in the Ohio House can protect the rights of teachers in this state to keep their money from funding the political agenda of any organization without their approval.

Jade Thompson

Marietta

Letter: Districts health care contract raises questions

Published: Thursday, October 7, 2010

To the Editor:

There is no denying that elections, whether local or national, have consequences. Take health care for example.

In late 2007, the elected members of the Worthington Board of Education awarded the district's health care contract to United Health Care (UHC), despite the fact that theirs was the highest of four remaining bids. In 2008, that insurance went up 28 percent for a total of nearly $1.25 million in increases, mostly to the taxpayers.

Fast forward to today, and our school board just accepted a 12.9 percent increase in the premiums from the same company, with our district treasurer saying we were lucky the rates didn't go up 20 percent.

As residents struggle to manage the costs of their own health care while also footing the bill for nearly a thousand district employees, we should ask ourselves several questions -- especially as we already hear talk of yet another permanent operating levy, possibly even before the last of the incremental levy is fully collected.

* Instead of simply "rubber stamping" a one-year extension of the 2009-2011 contract, couldn't the board have negotiated a one-sentence change to have employees pay a larger share of the increasing health care costs? Think carefully about this in 2011 when deciding who to elect to represent you on the board.

* Is it inappropriate that while we taxpayers transfer millions of dollars to UHC for the district's insurance premiums, UHC makes the largest contribution, by far, to the 2009 levy campaign? Will UHC continue to be generous levy donors to ensure passage of future tax levies?

* Did the recent 13 percent jump in premium costs have anything to do with the government health care program that was shoved through Congress against the will of the people earlier this year? We may want to ask this of our own employers when we receive notice of our own health care increase this year, next year and the year after that.

Again, elections have consequences. As we approach Nov. 2, consider how much more these health care costs will necessarily skyrocket if the massive and massively flawed government health care program is not repealed or drastically reformed.

John Herrington

co-founder, EducateWorthington.org

Worthington's Conrath to retire at end of 2011

Schare elected president of school board

Letter: Districts health care contract raises questions

Union Members: Where Do Your Dues Go?

The Worthington Cupp Report for 2009

From the Buckeye Institute:

Editorial: Teachers Gain, Students Pain?

The PASS Report for Worthington

The Need for Levy Reform in Ohio

Proposed Cleveland teachers contract limits pay cuts, preserves seniority

Letters highlight problems caused by union salaries

Editorial: Pension peril Double-dipping, rising health-care costs add up to unsustainable system

Editorial: Lower expectations -- Teacher pay raises must be tempered by economic reality

The Phony Funding Crisis

Fantasy Land

The Other National Debt

District costs continue to rise without union concessions

'Three-year' levy to last two years

Expensive union contracts drive school costs upward

Dispatch Editorial: School-funding panel should begin with look at Ohio's budget reality

Worthington school board, public digest hefty state audit

Wednesday, September 22, 2010 By CANDY BROOKS ThisWeek Community Newspapers

Of $2.65-million in annual cost savings measures recommended in a recent audit of school spending, some have already been made.

Others will likely be grist for the mill, resulting in further cuts as educators continue to look at the findings in the 103-page report done by the state auditor's office.

But the most substantial of the individual items recommended for reduction the cost of health insurance for district employees has actually increased since the report was released three weeks ago.

All of that was discussed by the Worthington school board and approximately 40 residents who turned out at a special meeting focusing on the audit on Monday night.

The board requested and paid $38,500 to the auditor's office to examine its spending practices in the areas of human resources, facilities and transportation.

Auditors spent more than 1,000 hours examining district records and comparing them to best practices and to peer districts. Ten districts similar in demographics, size, enrollment and nearness to metropolitan areas were chosen for comparison.

Measures to save money included the elimination of six clerical positions, four of which have already been reduced, Superintendent of Schools Melissa Conrath said.

The audit also recommended the elimination of one school psychologist. That has not been done and board member Charlie Wilson said on Monday that he would not support that move. The $63,000 spent for the extra position is "money well spent," he said.

The district has also cut daily pay for substitute teachers by $10, to reduce annual substitute cost to a level comparable to the peer average.

Staffing comparisons in the report show that Worthington actually has fewer employees per 1,000 students than peer districts 126.7 employees per 1,000 in Worthington, compared to 128.4 in peer districts.

The areas in which Worthington has more employees include teaching; education service personnel (art, music, physical education teachers); other certified (high school activities directors, deans of students, curriculum directors); other students services (psychologists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists); and office/clerical.

The audit was based on the 2008-09 school year. In the past two years, 24 teaching positions and 8.5 non-certified positions have been eliminated, Conrath said.

Since last year, 1.8 service personnel positions have been cut, and more will be considered, she said.

Those positions listed under "other" will also be considered, she said.

But the cost of health care benefits has increased since the audit recommended cutting $1.4-million a year to bring district costs to a level comparable to industry benchmarks.

At its Sept. 13, meeting, the board voted to increase the cost of premiums by 12.9 percent.

The district pays 88 percent of premiums for teachers, and 91 percent for classified employees. In addition, the district makes an annual contribution to each participant's health savings account.

Insurance practices are spelled out in teachers' and classified employees' contracts.

Parent: Phoenix cost tops that of local elite private schools

Wednesday, September 15, 2010 By CANDY BROOKS ThisWeek Community Newspapers

The cost to educate a student at Worthington's alternative middle school is $18,654 more than the annual tuition at the Columbus School for Girls, the Wellington School, or Columbus Academy.

Parent Lore Dorn-Cook shared that information with the Worthington school board Monday night, accusing members of having "a hidden, elite agenda" and mismanaging district funds.

Dorn-Cook and other middle-school parents began questioning the cost of the Phoenix School last February, when the board announced plans to close Perry Middle School, sending the approximately 150 students from that school to McCord Middle School.

The 166 Phoenix School students are still housed in the former Perry building.

Last winter and spring, school officials said they did not know the cost of the Phoenix program, which is now entering its fourth year.

The 20010/11 budget figures posted on the district web site this summer reflects the relatively high cost of the alternative program, which accepts students from all over the district, with students chosen by a lottery.

The cost of educating a student at McCord is approximately half the Phoenix cost. With 508 students at McCord and a cost of $4,730,013, the per-pupil cost is approximately $9,311.

The Worthingway per-pupil cost is approximately $10,955, and the Kilbourne Middle School cost $10,904.

When the board announced plans to close Perry, the cited reason was to save money.

"The 2011 budget states that there is no real savings, just no cost increase," Dorn-Cook said.

The per-pupil cost at Phoenix is higher because the staff is more experienced, explained board president Julie Keegan.

If the program were to close, those teachers would still be employed and the overall cost of middle school education would not be lowered, she said.

Before the end of the calendar year, the board will look at the middle school plan and determine if the value of the Phoenix program is worth the price, Keegan promised.

Also on Monday, the board voted 4-1 to accept a 12.9-percent increase in the cost of employee medical insurance.

The district is insured by United Healthcare.

Board member Marc Schare cast the dissenting vote, stating that the district does not competitively bid the insurance contract and the committee that decides what the package will be does not communicate with the board or the public about the decision.

"We get a quote and pretty much have to swallow it," he said.

He noted that the recently released state audit of the district was critical of the cost of the district's health care package.

Board treasurer Jeff McCuen said that if a district allows annual competition for the contract, its credibility is damaged with insurance companies.

"It is the best we could do at this time," McCuen said.

The board also:

• Heard a report that the district received an A, rather than the expected A-plus, on the state report card.

Audit notes district spending, suggests staff reductions

Superintendent Melissa Conrath says the voluntary financial audit's comparison of districts ignored several variables, but efforts to save money will continue.

By PAMELA WILLIS Published: Tuesday, September 7, 2010

The Worthington City School District will hold a special meeting to help the community understand the results of a recent state financial performance audit.

The meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 20 at the Worthington Education Center, 200 E. Wilson Bridge Road.

Treasurer Jeff McCuen said Michael Day of the state auditor's office will attend the meeting to explain and comment on the results of the performance audit.

McCuen also will provide information about Race to the Top federal funds and the Federal Jobs funds the district is expected to receive.

The performance audit can be viewed at the auditor's website, auditor.state.oh.us, using the "audit search" option.

McCuen said the district requested the performance audit.

"The goal of the audit was to provide an independent assessment of our operations in an effort to improve service delivery and optimize operational efficiency," he said. "The audit provided recommendations for negotiations and possible improvements in transportation."

The audit focused on finances concerning human resources management and allocation, facilities and transportation, comparing Worthington schools with "peer districts."

McCuen said the district administration and Treasurer Advisory Committee worked with the auditor to determine the peer districts, which included Dublin, Hilliard and Olentangy in Central Ohio; Solon in Cuyahoga County; Lakota in Butler County; and Centerville in Montgomery County.

He said the audit was based on data from the 2008-09 school year.

The audit stated Worthington schools' average expenditure per pupil is $12,533, while peer districts average about $10,984 per pupil.

The district spent more than peer districts in administration costs, pupil support and instruction, according to the audit, spending 17.7 percent more than peer districts on instruction, which includes teacher salaries, computers and materials used in instruction.

Recommendations for the district included in the audit were, in the category of human resources, that the district develop a comprehensive staffing plan and examine job descriptions to possibly eliminate up to six clerical positions, as well as examine duties for 22 non-teaching positions to identify any possible reductions.

The audit also stated the district is spending more than peer districts on employee healthcare expenses and should consider renegotiations with employees to raise employee premium contributions or reduce the contributions the district makes to each health savings account, which offsets deductible amounts.

The audit stated that each January, the district makes a $900 payment for single coverage and $1,800 for family coverage to the health savings accounts of each certified employee, with similar amounts for classified employees.

The audit also contained a "noteworthy accomplishments" section that stated the district's certified bargaining agreement language demonstrated "exemplary practice" and noted the school district for its "aggressive energy management" program, including automated temperature control for classrooms and the installation of solar panels.

In a "district response" letter from Superintendent Melissa Conrath, included at the end of the audit, Conrath wrote, "There are many variables not taken into consideration when statistically comparing one school district to the peers, including building capacity and Worthington-specific programs.

"The Worthington community values programs and operations beyond the state minimum; therefore, some recommendations may not be what are right for our community," Conrath wrote in the letter.

About the "noteworthy accomplishments," she wrote, "It is good to have independent certification of some of our past decisions.

"We have implemented changes in prior years and during the course of the audit addressing some of the recommendations," she wrote. "We will continue our efforts by reducing overtime, reducing substitutes, implementing changes to high school busing and reduced high school classified staff for the 2010-11 school year."

McCuen said the school board and his department will use the audit recommendations "to engage the community in the decision-making process regarding implementation of the recommendations where appropriate."

From the Buckeye Institute:

OEA Employees Strike

In the too good to be true category, check out this video (http://bit.ly/doZcUo) from our news bureau about a strike by OEA employees against the OEA. Looks like the infamous greed of corporations has made its way to the boardrooms of America's unions.

Letter: District must explore long-term budget solutions

Published: Thursday, September 2, 2010

To the Editor:

Back to school is quickly approaching and as parents watch for sales to replenish backpacks and dorm rooms, I would like to ask the Worthington City School District to make some proactive decisions about how the district's budgets will look in the future.

Truly, everyone realizes that a levy every two years is not good fiscal policy, nor is it a feasible option. On the same line of thinking, parents, students and teachers will need to start visualizing a different type of district. The education will be the same, but the student populations in each building will look different -- unless a levy every two years is in your budget.

My greatest hope is that the school district will begin a dialogue with the community and review the options available. This process cannot be rushed. It should not cost thousands of dollars for consultants, and it should use the resources that we have available within our district.

The next three to five years can bring about different housing for our students but the same quality education, or it can literally destroy our excellent education and sense of community because of bickering and less-than-transparent practices used to balance the budget. The outcome will directly affect our students -- our children. It is up to the community, and the burden is on the Worthington City School District to lead the way.

Kathleen Murphy

Funds unlikely to delay levy

Wednesday, September 1, 2010 By CANDY BROOKS ThisWeek Community Newspapers

The Worthington schools will receive about $500,000 in federal Race to the Top money, but don't expect it go far in delaying the next operating levy.

The money must be directed to government-directed initiatives, the details of which the district was to learn during a Webinar set for Wednesday, Sept. 1.

A committee of educators will determine how the money would be used, based on what is learned.

"Obviously, we are excited. We are pleased to receive funding to support initiatives we want to move forward," Superintendent Melissa Conrath said.

She said she expects the funds to support a need for professional development to help teachers prepare for newly-written state standards and assessments. Also to be supported is the district's efforts to use data to impact instruction. Both are initiatives deemed important by the state and federal government.

Federal American Recovery & Reinvestment Act money granted last year already has been used to develop an online system that allows teachers to learn about the performance of individual students, she said.

Besides the Race to the Top funds, the district received nearly $2-million in ARRA money to be used this year and next, district treasurer Jeff McCuen said. It may be used for operations, he said.

In addition, Worthington will receive an estimated $721,973 from the federal government to be used over the next two years to keep teachers from losing their jobs. All of the federal dollars probably wouldn't be enough to keep the district off the ballot next year, though, McCuen said. That will be determined by Ohio's next biennium budget, he said, and he is not expecting the news from the state to be encouraging.

He said he expects that the five-year financial forecast he prepares in May will indicate the need for a levy next year, just as he predicted months ago. "I am thinking it will be in November of 2011 at this point," he said.

Editorial: Teachers Gain, Students Pain?

Mary McCleary Policy Analyst

mmccleary@buckeyeinstitute.org

Many school districts around the state are facing deep budget cuts due to failed levies in the May primary. Now school districts must make the tough choices and make ends meet. More often than not that means students will bear the brunt of school budget crises through fewer opportunities and larger class sizes. From laying off teachers to cutting sports and fine arts programs, almost nothing is off the table – except teacher compensation.

Gahanna-Jefferson School District illustrates this problem perfectly. This past May, the Gahanna-Jefferson school district asked voters for a 9-mill operating levy. This levy would have raised yearly property taxes by $312 for each $100,000 in home value. For example, those owning a home worth $325,000 would have paid an extra $1,014 per year in property taxes. By a slim margin, the voters said no.

Because the Gahanna-Jefferson levy failed, the district cut two administrator jobs, 15 teacher positions, 11 non-certified positions, and 12 alternative instructor positions. There are also talks of cutting funds from the transportation, technology, and textbook budgets. Additionally, to help cover the costs of athletics, the district will start implementing pay-to-play fees in 2011. If the next levy does not pass, these sports fees could soar up to $500.

All of the budget cuts have one thing in common: they hurt the kids. This approach is little more than emotional blackmail. There is no denying that school budgets must be balanced. However, in order to successfully balance the budget without cutting services to vulnerable populations, teacher compensation simply cannot be taken off the table.

For the 2008-2009 school year, the average Gahanna-Jefferson teacher earned $67,494 for working 1,350 hours. Prorated to the standard full work year of 2,080 hours, the average teacher salary was $103,991. Surprisingly, the average physical education instructor in Gahanna schools earned $71,898 during 2008-2009, or $110,776 when prorated to the full work year. These high figures do not even take into account retirement packages, sick pay, or benefits.

Over and over again, Gahanna-Jefferson has failed to restrain spending. Between 1998 and 2009, the number of students in the district rose a mere 5.5 percent, but the per pupil cost increased 80 percent from $6,595 to $11,289, far outpacing inflation which was only 29 percent over the 11 year period. Similarly, teacher pay increased by 44 percent from $46,733 to $67,494 between 2001 and 2009 while inflation was only 21 percent.

Had the average teacher salary increased with the rate of inflation from 2001 to 2009, Gahanna-Jefferson schools would have saved $5,002,779 in 2009 alone. Instead of having to cut $2.5 million from the budget, the school district would have run a $2.5 million surplus.

When a school district asks for more money, taxpayers have the chance to examine spending and decide whether an increase in funding is warranted. If the school district is not restraining costs or if it is spending money frivolously, the taxpayers can decline levy requests and send a clear message to the school district that it needs to make do with the resources it has been given. Thus, district residents can hold their schools accountable – for now.

The 2009 Ohio Budget created a new kind of levy: the conversion levy. If passed, this levy would create a permanent, indefinite increase in property taxes and consequently in school revenues. Had a conversion levy been passed in 1998, Gahanna schools would have collected an additional $19,817,129 in revenue between 1998 and 2008 without the district ever having to go back to the voters. Fundamentally, the conversion levy removes the best accountability measure taxpayers have to keep their school districts in check.

By cutting various programs to save money, school districts continue to nibble on the margins without making any real strides toward solving the systemic funding crisis created by ever-increasing gold-plated compensation packages for school district employees, including double-dipping administrators. If school districts truly want to rein in spending, they must be willing to take on the entrenched interests of the teacher union and tell administrators the gravy train has come to an end.

While teachers and administrators continue to receive salary increases that far outpace the rate of inflation, many of their private sector neighbors are taking pay cuts, losing jobs, and struggling to make ends meet. It is patently unfair to saddle these folks with higher property taxes at a time when we are in the worst single decade for investors since the 1830s just so teachers can be compensated at a level that is totally out of touch with economic reality.

Proposed Cleveland teachers contract limits pay cuts, preserves seniority

Published: Saturday, July 10, 2010, 4:00 AM Updated: Saturday, July 10, 2010, 10:46 AM Thomas Ott, The Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland teachers would give up an estimated $17 million in concessions under a tentative contract, but would limit pay cuts and protect seniority rights that were targeted by Chief Executive Officer Eugene Sanders.

The three-year agreement, a copy of which was obtained Friday by The Plain Dealer, also would return to the payroll many of the more than 660 union members who were laid off last month. The exact number has not been determined.

The district's nearly 3,900 teachers would give up three paid training days, or 1.5 percent of their salaries, below the 4.6 percent Sanders had demanded. They also would forgo reimbursement for voluntary training, delay step increases until the last quarter of the school year and pay higher health-care premiums.

"It's a decent contract," union spokeswoman Tracy Radich said. "The reality is there are tough economic times for everybody."

Sanders was adamant that he wanted to weaken, even gut, seniority in job assignments, calling the flexibility key to his new academic "transformation plan." Districts around the country are exploring labor agreements that would give principals more control over who works in their buildings. Related stories

* Tentative agreement reached on teachers contract (July 5) * Teachers union wins arbitration ruling (July 2) * More coverage of education * Coverage of Cleveland Schools transformation plan

Highlights of contract

Highlights of the tentative three-year agreement reached by the Cleveland Teachers Union and the Cleveland School District:

• Delays salary step increases.

• Eliminates three paid training days.

• Keeps teacher seniority rights.

• Increases health-care premi ums.

• Acknowledges union's right to organize district-affiliated charter schools.

• Gives teachers a voice in implementing district's "transformation plan."

• Continues to allow teachers to remove disruptive students from class.

• Calls for collaboration in developing new teacher evaluation system.

Sanders' spokesman, John Hairston, downplayed the retreat on seniority, saying the district was more interested in wiping out a deficit once forecast at nearly $54 million. The savings from the teachers' contract brings the district close to that figure and avoids cuts that would swell the size of some classes to 45 students.

"The biggest concern we had was putting people back in the classroom," Hairston said. "I don't see it as a setback."

Teachers will vote on the contract from July 21-23 and July 26-28. The school board will schedule a ratification vote before the end of the month.

The agreement could be reopened on economic issues in the second and third years, when the district expects to face mounting financial problems. The strain has stirred talk of a new operating levy, something the schools have not seen since 1996.

The teachers' previous contract expired June 30 but was reopened a year ago, after the administration exercised its option to cancel 3 percent raises. Negotiations began early this year but quickly hit a wall.

Union leaders said Sanders simply refused to bargain, while Sanders replied that he would talk when there was something to talk about.

Negotiations resumed three weeks ago at the urging of Mayor Frank Jackson, who worried that a lingering dispute would interfere with execution of the transformation plan, starting in August. The agreement was announced Monday.

The tentative agreement calls for increased collaboration, something the union had complained was in short supply. For example, teachers will get seats on district and school transformation committees, helping with reforms that are tailored to each building.

District officials and teachers also will develop a new teacher evaluation system, another hot-button issue nationwide. The system will get a trial run in at least 10 schools during the 2010-11 school year but results from the pilot can't be used to dismiss teachers, Radich said.

Sanders, as part of his reform plan, had told more than 600 teachers at poor-performing schools to reapply for positions with the district. But in a binding decision, an arbitrator last week ruled that the order, affecting 14 elementary schools and eight high schools, violated the union's old contract.

Radich said the union will work with the district to reassign up to half the teachers in eight of the schools. The district has to replace the teachers to receive up to $27 million in federal funds over three years.

The newfound spirit of cooperation rated a mention at the American Federation of Teachers convention that will conclude Sunday in Seattle. Leaders of the Cleveland union are in attendance."

"We're often faced with the uninformed attitude that collectively bargained contracts themselves are the obstacle to making schools better, rather than the understanding that collective bargaining is a process where our voices, together, help improve schools, other public services and communities." AFT President Randi Weingarten said in a convention speech.

"We've increasingly been able to use collective bargaining as a creative tool to codify collaborative approaches that improve teaching and learning," she said, citing Cleveland as the latest example.

Sanders' plan calls for letting charter schools run some district buildings. Under the proposed labor agreement, contracts with district-sponsored charters would have to acknowledge the union's right to organize the charter school teachers.

The union already has the right to organize the schools, so the provision is largely symbolic. John Zitzner, among several charter-school operators who are seeking closer ties with the district, has been cool to the idea of using union teachers.

"Nobody has been able to show how organizing our teachers would better serve our children," he said.

Letters highlight problems caused by union salaries

Published: Wednesday, July 7, 2010

To the Editor:

In a world of often bleak news, there were two bright spots in the "Letters to the Editor" section recently (Worthington News, June 23).

First, past Worthington Board of Education member and union apologist Abramo Ottolenghi wrote, "... since salaries and benefits are the largest (by far) expenditures of the district, no real savings can be achieved without looking at those expenditures."

Educate Worthington and many others have stated this fact for many years and have been roundly criticized as teacher-haters who don't care about children or their education. Abramo should be careful what he says publicly, or he could suffer the same fate -- even if he is right. Hopefully, he will soon point out the connection between those expensive union contracts -- the real 800-pound gorilla -- and the deep cuts the students and the Worthington program will suffer if we don't fundamentally change those contracts, and soon.

The second bright spot was Dick Graham's letter, as a shining example of the name-calling the community has come to expect from the union and education advocates who think the more you give the union, the better the students will do. Thankfully, he at least boldly admits a fundamental truth that the union doesn't want us to remember: It is the students and their parents who have the greatest influence on academic performance -- period.

He should also know by now that Olentangy delivers an equal or superior product on far smaller union salaries.

Cheryl Shirk

Editorial: Pension peril Double-dipping, rising health-care costs add up to unsustainable system

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Public employees who retire to begin collecting their public pension, then are rehired in their old position and collect a public salary on top of their pension, argue that they're not costing the taxpayers anything extra, even when these arrangements result in million-dollar payouts.

But, as Ohio's public pensions slide toward insolvency and the state's budget deficit grows more alarming, the public will be less and less tolerant of this so-called double-dipping.

Defenders of double-dipping argue that if the public employer weren't paying the retiree to do the job, it would be paying somebody else, also at taxpayers' expense, so there's no real difference. This argument has merit, though it should be pointed out that if the retiree is rehired at or above his ending salary, then he probably is being paid much more than a replacement would have received - meaning that taxpayers are, indeed, spending more than they need to.

But the most important aspect of double-dipping is what makes it possible in the first place: the generous early retirement ages afforded by public-employee pensions. Some public employees can retire with full benefits at age 48, while in the private sector, where fewer and fewer employees have pensions, full benefits often are not available until at least age 65.

Not only do these early retirement ages encourage double-dipping and allow most public retirees to draw pensions for many more years than their private-sector counterparts, retiring well before 65 means the retirees need health-care coverage until Medicare kicks in. Although state law doesn't require it, Ohio's public pension plans began offering health-care coverage in the 1970s. Retirees now demand coverage, and its soaring cost is one of several reasons the pension plans are less and less financially sound.

An investigation by Ohio's eight largest newspapers into double-dipping, published Sunday, highlighted some of the most extreme outcomes, involving school-district superintendents. Their relatively high salaries, combined with the perverse incentives of the State Teachers Retirement System, lead many to "retire" early, because it can mean a seven-figure paycheck when they finally stop working.

A superintendent earning $100,000 who retires at age 52 would receive about $64,000 from his pension the first year. He can be rehired in the same job at his last salary and continue to receive raises each year.

No wonder a fourth of Ohio superintendents are collecting pensions along with their paychecks. They're joined by half of the superintendents of educational service centers. Double-dipping instantly increases their incomes by as much as 80 percent.

Teachers, police officers, firefighters and bureaucrats might not rack up numbers quite as high, but the same double-dipping incentives apply.

Taxpayers, many of whom face pay cuts or freezes and diminished retirement prospects in their private-sector jobs, can't be expected to support the current system without change. Managers of the public pension funds should make the necessary changes, however difficult and unpopular, to bring them in line with private-sector plans. Change is needed, not only to ensure continued taxpayer support but to address the growing funding imbalances.

The teachers' system currently has $40 billion in unfunded liabilities and will be looking to taxpayers for at least a partial bailout.

Already, local governments, including school systems, spend $4.1 billion per year to pay for pensions. The Ohio Retirement Study Council would like to see "employer contributions" - taxpayer contributions - raised to the point that they would total $5billion annually.

That's an unrealistic expectation to have of taxpayers.

Instead, pension managers should require employees to pay more into their retirement, raise the retirement age and, ultimately, shift newly hired public employees to a 401(k)-style retirement system. Retirees also will have to shoulder more of their health-care burden.

The status quo isn't sustainable.

Editorial: Lower expectations -- Teacher pay raises must be tempered by economic reality

Sunday, June 20, 2010 02:58 AM

The recessionary squeeze that many school districts' teachers are feeling in salary negotiations is inevitable.

It also is a sign that school districts and teachers unions are facing the reality that they can't make it through year after year of state-budget deficits that depress their state aid, nor expect financially exhausted voters to continue approving new school taxes, without touching the one area that typically consumes more than three-quarters of their budgets.

Public-school teachers in Ohio long have been able to count on generous raises each year. Beyond any negotiated across-the-board yearly increases, most teachers-union contracts include "step" increases at several stops on the seniority scale, as well as for acquiring more education and professional credentials. These days, school funding for many districts essentially is flat, but maintaining a flat budget is exceedingly difficult when the majority of it carries locked-in increases of 6 percent and more.

Districts already have felt the impact; school boards balance budgets by leaving jobs un-

filled, making classes bigger, cutting busing and eliminating programs not mandated by state regulations.

Many districts now have reached the point at which teacher pay no longer can remain untouched.

Last year, uphill efforts to win voter approval of operating levies prompted teachers, along with administrators and nonteaching employees, in South-Western City Schools to forgo scheduled raises for the 2009-10 school year. Step increases remained in place. Worthington City Schools teachers agreed to freeze base salaries in the 2011-12 school year.

In January, teachers and support staff in Reynoldsburg City Schools followed suit, accepting a freeze on raises and step increases through the 2010-11 school year.

This year, teachers in 10 of 16 Franklin County districts will begin negotiations for new contracts. The dire condition of the state budget, combined with property-tax revenues depressed by the weak housing market of recent years, means they can't expect the salary growth that has been common in the past.

Parents value the people who teach their children, but many of those parents and other taxpayers have lost jobs, can't find a job or have taken pay freezes or cuts. From their perspective, even a skimpy raise sounds pretty good.

Letter: District costs continue to rise without union concessions

Published: Wednesday, June 9, 2010

To the Editor:

Just after the November 2009 election, Educate Worthington wrote:

"Unfortunately, the cumulative cost of many years of 5 percent to 6 percent average raises, nearly free health insurance, taxpayer-funded health care deductibles and extremely generous retirement packages cannot be offset by a partial salary freeze every 16 years. In fact, the new five-year forecast proves this by showing that even after taking these 'freezes' into account, the district still projects ever larger levies in 2012 and 2014 -- or sooner."

It appears that the "sooner" has now arrived.

According to a recent school board meeting, a new operating levy is being considered to appear on the ballot as early as 2011. This will have the interesting implication of requesting a new levy before the previous one is fully collected -- if you recall, the last installment of the previous levy, 1.5 mills, goes into effect for 2011. As far as we know, this is unprecedented in Ohio.

While the size of this new levy has not yet been determined, we do know that there will be over $15 million in cuts through 2014, according to the newest forecast. $15 million, coincidentally, is the same amount in cuts that some in the levy campaign, the union and the school board regularly circulated in order to pass the 2009 levy.

Are salary and benefit costs being "cut?" No. The projected increase in salary spending for 2012 through 2014 is approximately 2.3 percent, 2.4 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively. And you might also note that despite the union's offer of "0 percent base raises" for 2012, the salary budget still increases nearly $2 million, in large part due to the automatic step raises that are unaffected. And as for health care, these costs alone are projected to rise 13 percent per year.

The administration and board indicated that they will have to "prepare the community" for the impending cuts -- and the need to ask for more money sooner than expected. Perhaps they should also consider "preparing the union" to share more fully and fairly in any sacrifices that our students and our residents may face.

Oh, and as for the two-year levy cycle? It will continue into the foreseeable future until one of two things happens: either there is a fundamental change in the spending on salaries and benefits, or we move toward a one-year levy cycle.

John Herrington

co-founder, EducateWorthington

Wilson statements tell only part of the story

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

To the editor:

At the May 7 and May 10 Worthington board of education meetings, statements were made by board member Charlie Wilson that at best tell only part of the story.

In an exchange with board president Marc Schare he said that he was tired of the constant attacks on teachers' salaries and the salary scale. He then stated that in 2003 Worthington's salary schedule was second from the highest in the 16 school districts in central Ohio, had fallen to ninth in 2009 and is now eighth.

However, in the March 5, 2010, edition of Columbus Business First in its public school analysis list of the 49 school districts in the central Ohio region, Worthington, with an average teacher salary of $68,355, was fourth only to Upper Arlington at $70,164, Bexley at $71,655 and barely below Grandview at $68,989. Still, those other three school systems have less total students combined than Worthington, which leads to the conclusion that Worthington has the greatest number of highest paid teachers of the school districts in central Ohio.

Further, a larger school district, Olentangy Local, has an average salary of $55,955, which is 18 percent lower than Worthington's average salary, although both school systems produce similar excellent results.

Glenn Karr, Worthington

Fantasy Land

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Teachers unions and their Democrat enablers need this reality check: Taxpayers simply can't afford perpetual increases in public education funding.

In Washington, Education Secretary Arne Duncan predicts "catastrophe" (read: unionized teacher layoffs) if states don't get another $23 billion. That's on top of the stimulus bill's $100 billion for education.

In Harrisburg, the Pennsylvania State Education Association forecasts "disaster" unless Gov. Ed Rendell gets the $354 million hike in education spending in his budget proposal. That would replace Pennsylvania's share of that $100 billion -- and spare PSEA members cuts that the stimulus money's one-time nature should dictate.

It's as if federal K-12 spending hasn't doubled since 2000. And as if the private sector, which has lost 7.4 percent of jobs, hasn't suffered far worse during the recession than the public sector, which has lost fewer than 1 percent of jobs.

Sooner or later, Democrats must drop their fantasy-land approach to public education. Taxpayers who have to live within their means can't perpetually foot the bill for the unionized educratic establishment which doesn't.

Letter: Quality schools keep city's home values climbing

Published: Wednesday, June 9, 2010

To the Editor:

Paying property tax to support good schools is just one more thing a homeowner does to maintain their property. Even if one never uses the schools, the investment pays for itself when selling the home.

The median home sale price in Worthington has increased between $30,000 and $50,000 over the last 10 years, and that is after the recent market downturn. Even at the low end, that is an average increase of $3,000 per year.

When the current levy reaches the full 6.9 mills, the median homeowner in Worthington will be paying $35 a month for the levy. In return, the $3,000-plus annual increase in the value of the median Worthington home is a great return on this small investment.

In comparison, over that same period, the median home sale price in Columbus dropped between $15,000 and $25,000. The number of Worthington home sales is down about 15 percent, but still remains strong. Columbus home sales are down about 50 percent. The Worthington school taxes clearly are not scaring away potential buyers. (trulia.com)

Worthington's diligence has paid off. When the current levy reaches full force in 2012, the Worthington school tax rate will only be 7.4 mills above Columbus's current rate. That is a bargain for the quality of our schools.

And quality schools attract homebuyers. Our family moved to Worthington two years ago for the neighborhood schools. Our process of identifying which homes to consider purchasing began with: (1) where are the good schools, (2) which suburbs are not too far.

These two constraints limited our search to properties in Worthington and Upper Arlington. And that was before we even looked at a single house. Many homebuyers with children follow a similar decision path, and that is why Worthington homes are in demand and property values are increasing.

Worthington property taxes depend more on home value than a few mills of a school levy. Our quality schools are in demand, and thus our property values go up.

Benjamin Coifman

Ohio fiscal situation hurts school districts

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

To the editor:

I can't be as pessimistic as board member Marc Schare, whose attributed statement that the Worthington school district is about to "fall off a cliff" has sparked controversy. However, the future for education in Ohio, and therefore in Worthington, too, is certainly less than bright.

Schare is right in that serious challenges present themselves tothe district. He is equally right in pointing out that, since salaries and benefits are the largest (by far) expenditures of the district, no real savings can be achieved without looking at those expenditures.

I also believe that board member Charlie Wilson, who described the reality of Worthington's salary schedule in relation to those of competing districts, was echoing Woody Hayes' reportedly saying, "You win with people." This is true for any organization, especially one that is so people-d pendent as a school district.

Although I do not wish to pass judgment on the issues relating to the Perry to McCord transfer, it seems to me that all board members are right when they point out that all options have to be considered when trying to preserve and improve the educational program within the economic and other constraints. Among the constraints mentioned by Schare is that some parents will always object to this or that strategic move.  Finally, listening to the audio-file of the last board meeting, I found that it was left to board member David Bressman to mention the 500-pound gorilla in the room: the dismal fiscal situation of Ohio. A projected deficit of 7-8 billion dollars can't but negatively affect the state's contribution to education. Couple that deficit with the elimination of the tangible property tax that supplied the district with a large part of its income, and the outcome becomes evident. Because of the national recession and poor economic growth in Ohio, the Commercial Activities Tax (CAT), which supposedly was to replace the repealed tax, came in at a much lower rate than projected.

Wilson is right when he says that for all our sakes we should be interested in keeping the Worthington school district a "District of Choice." A district where young parents want to move for the education of their children, a district where those of us whose children are gone, choose to stay, and, finally, a district where good teachers, both young and experienced, choose to come to work. It will not be easy and it will take all of us to make it happen.

Abramo Ottolenghi

Next on recession's hit list: teacher salaries Union members forgoing raises, cost-of-living increases

Monday, June 7, 2010 02:54 AM By Charlie Boss THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Teachers and other school employees have felt the impact of a dismal economy. Jobs have gone unfilled, class sizes have expanded and there's no money for training and supplies.

But after years of tightening their belts, school districts now are reaching into the bulk of their expenses - salaries and benefits - to curb costs. Across the state and nation, more school boards and unions are settling on one- to two-year contracts with cost-of-living increases from zero to 1.5 percent, officials say.

"We've hit the point in the recession where, basically, most states are in the third year," said Michael Griffith, finance expert with the Education Commission of the States, based in Denver.

"In the first year, school districts have cut on the edges," he said. "In year two, districts have made deep cuts but held teachers harmless. Now, in year three, the only thing left is teacher salaries."

Last month, teachers unions in the Gahanna-Jefferson and Pickerington districts agreed to extend contracts through the 2010-11 school year with no increases to base salaries. (Teachers will still get step increases, which are awarded for experience and level of education.)

Dublin board members recently OK'd a three-year pact with the Dublin Educators' Association with raises ranging from 1 percent to 1.5 percent. The previous contract with the teachers union lasted for two years and included 3 percent raises in both years.

Also:

• In January, Reynoldsburg's two employee unions accepted a freeze on raises and step increases next school year.

• Last year, Worthington teachers agreed to freeze base salaries in the 2011-12 school year.

• In March, Columbus City Schools' nonteaching employees negotiated 1.7percent and 1.85 percent raises in a new two-year contract that has them taking more risk on their health-care costs.

Ten of 16 Franklin County school districts have union pacts expiring this year. Talks have started in the Bexley, Canal Winchester, Dublin, Groveport-Madison, Hamilton, South-Western and Westerville districts.

"It's just a sign of the times," Hilliard Treasurer Brian Wilson said. "All the districts are facing financial difficulties and are looking at what their communities can afford. That will certainly be an issue for us, as well."

Contracts for Hilliard's two employee unions are up Dec. 31.

The financial challenges have led to contract disputes in some districts.

Cleveland teachers protested last month over the lack of progress on a new contract. The school board decided to lay off about 800 employees, including 546 teachers, to help stave off a $53 million deficit. District leaders said teachers can limit job losses by agreeing to concessions, such as wage cuts, but the union has refused.

It's foreshadowing for what's to come in Ohio as districts and unions get deeper into negotiations, said Van Keating, who oversees policy and labor work for districts at the Ohio School Boards Association.

"You aren't going to see any seriousness of the struggle now," he said. "Where that is going to come into play is the start of the school year."

He said school leaders are aware of contract settlements elsewhere, especially when unions forgo raises.

Giving up a cost-of-living raise is not something educators take lightly, said Carla Fultz, president of the Pickerington Education Association.

"We call the zero the gift that keeps on giving," she said. "You don't get the percentage we lost back. In better economic times, we would have gotten a 2 or 3percent raise. The next time you negotiate, you're not going to get 6 percent."

She said this is the third time the union agreed to forgo cost-of-living raises in the 18 years she's been in the district.

Pickerington board members are trying to decide how much money to seek in a November levy request. Adding to the uncertainty is a projected $3.4 million drop in state funding for both the 2011-12 and 2012-13 school years because of the loss of federal stimulus money.

"It's very easy to see the handwriting on the wall and the difficulty the district is in," Fultz said. "It's really clear to us that now is not an appropriate time to ask for anything."

Wilson's faulty analysis: comparing apples, oranges

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

To the editor:

I'm very disappointed in Worthington school district board member Charlie Wilson's statement in last week's edition. He said, "In 2003 Worthington's salary schedule was second from the highest of the 16 districts in central Ohio and by 2009 it had fallen to ninth." There he goes again comparing apples to oranges.

According to the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) there are only five similar districts in central Ohio. "Similar" districts are identified by ODE by grouping districts based on specific demographics such as number of pupils, district wide income levels, diversity of students, overall size, etc. The four other "similar" districts to Worthington are Dublin, Hilliard, Gahanna-Jefferson and Westerville. Any comparison of any part of Worthington 's expenses, performance, etc. to any district outside of the other four is like comparing dogs to horses.

According to the ODE website (the CUPP 2008 report) here are some statistics to put his statement more into perspective, comparing Worthington to "similar" districts only.

Classroom Teachers Average Salary (FY 2008-09)

(This excludes benefits)

WSD $67,375.59

Similar districts $61,394.33 (We are actually the second highest of the local five)

Median Income

(TY 2006-07)

WSD $42,613.00

Similar districts $45,073.00 (Worthington is actually second lowest by only a smidge) – and these are pre-recession incomes.

What Mr. Wilson fails to realize is that our teacher salary/benefit package is too costly considering Worthington's loss of businesses during the last six or so years and that the schools rely more and more on residential property taxes, while a greater percentage of local residents are retiring or living on fixed incomes. It is also too costly when you compare other similar districts' expenditures and revenues:

(Again from ODE's website)

Total expenditure per pupil (FY08-09)

WSD $12,300.97

Similar districts $10,692.26

Total revenue per pupil (FY 2008-09)

WSD $12,487.74

Similar districts $10,527.92

Total property tax per pupil (FY 2008-09)

WSD $8,759.89

Similar districts $7,410.71

We may wish there were unlimited resources to fund an ever-increasing population of school employees, but the real world dictates budget cuts. (From the ODE website)

Number of regular classroom teachers (FY 2008-09)

WSD 471.60

Similar districts 347.71

The schools can't keep spending money as they did in 2003. The current economic times, limited financial resources of the community should equal drastic reduction in spending. The "well" is dry! Closing Perry Middle School is a good start; reconfiguring the elementaries would be another good step. Drastically reducing the number of employees and salaries/benefits would be the most important thing the board could do.

Stephanie Haueisen

Here we go again. The school district talks about its legitimate and understandable funding difficulties and John Herrington adds his narrow anti-teacher bias to the debate.

This district, in fact schools all over the nation (both with unions and without, for Herrington's information), are in dire straits. And now, as the long and tedious debate commences about what to do, might I suggest that this is a three-pronged issue. It cannot be dealt with effectively when we talk about only one prong. In Herrington's view, it's all the fault of union contracts. The fact is that employee costs are only part of the problem, if any at all.

First off, we must determine the requirements, aspirations, and expectations of the community regarding our school's overall mission. I am not convinced that this has been done effectively, but that important difficulty aside, when financial constraints loom those desires of the community must be reviewed and adjusted.

Second, we must address what the cost of meeting those requirements will be and determine what level of support the community can handle. In other words, a price tag must be put on the agreed upon requirements, aspirations, and expectations. Put another way, you can't have that for which you won't or can't pay.

Third, the workload and benefits of employees and the costs of facilities must be addressed to fit within the district's fiscal capacity but still adequate to meet the community requirements. It is the juxtaposition of these two factors – costs and requirements – to each other rather than either one alone that is the critical.

Herrington's approach obviously falls well short of either "educating Worthington," as he proclaims, or seriously addressing the issue. Unless we address all three components of the issue simultaneously, and properly align each with the other two, none will be addressed appropriately.

Bob Barkely [former executive director of the Ohio Education Association]

What kind of people do we elect and appoint to the Worthington board of education, and the treasurer's post? Do they not know the meaning of a budget, or fiscal responsibility?

Gee, if you are taking in less income than the amount you are spending, what would you do first? That's right, you would scale back your spending, not go to the "cash cow" public. If we (the cash cows) start spending more than we make, we don't go to our boss and say, "I need more money." We spend less (or we go bankrupt).

And, what causes this ongoing mess in the Worthington school district? You will probably say the economy — well, of course, we all have to deal with that. But, it goes back much further in history. Start with the fancy board of education palace (that wasn't needed, then the health care packages, the overpaid top-heavy administrators and finally, the ridiculous teachers' contracts.

The board of education and administration deserve to be replaced for financial ineptitude.  I, for one, am tired of constantly seeing our property taxes raised. I know for a fact that high property taxes scare away many potential real estate buyers. The Worthington schools are excellent probably as much due to the quality of the students, as from the school system itself.

I call on the board of education and the treasurer to learn how to stretch dollars, and avoid any further increases in our property taxes. By the way, why don't we have a school income tax (a less regressive tax) rather than property taxes?

Phil Alspach

Expensive union contracts drive school costs upward

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

To the editor:

Have you noticed that despite two significant recessions over the last 10 years, the local teachers union has enjoyed average raises of over 5-percent per year? Have you heard that although we passed a levy just six months ago, Worthington Schools will likely need a sizable new levy next year, and every two years thereafter, while we continue to cut student programs in order to sustain rapidly rising salary and benefit costs?

This situation is not unique to Worthington, as similar raises and similar program cuts have been common among our local school districts. In other words, the unions have done their jobs — jobs which are not about educating children, but are about securing district dollars for generous salaries and benefits.

In light of the dire circumstances this has created in Worthington and many other districts, Educate Worthington has a question: "Does the union's success in negotiating salaries and benefits have anything to do with the increasing levy demands and significant program cuts we now face?"

The answer is yes, and the proof is undeniable once we acknowledge that 87-percent of all levy dollars are for compensation, driven by the union contracts, which are negotiated and approved by the school board.

This compensation includes raises at double the rate of most American workers, and these raises have increased our average teacher salaries to over $72,000 for the 9 1/2 month school year. Taxpayers then contribute approximately $10,000 for pensions that allow full retirement in just 30 years, guaranteeing a lifetime retirement benefit of $4,000-$5,000/month.

As for healthcare, taxpayers cover 88-percent of the teacher's insurance premium, and the first $2,000 of the teacher's annual deductible. The bottom line is that these union contracts have become pretty expensive.

On May 12, The New York Times ran a story titled, "Greece, Debt and a Lesson," and correctly summarized the cause of Greece's severe financial crisis by saying, "They have been enjoying more generous government benefits than they can afford."

Can Ohio's local school districts (and our federal government) learn any lessons from Greece? Or will we instead choose to dismantle school programs and services for our children and our districts, while we accept $450 tax increases every two years so we can ignore the obvious — the union contracts that drive school spending have become more generous than we can afford. (And we know that Greece funds its unsustainable spending with "debt," while we fund ours with "levies.")

So as not to end this conversation without a suggestion on addressing this critical issue that is so harmful to our students and our communities, consider this: What if Ohio school district leaders openly admitted that the expensive union contracts are the primary cause of this problem? What if they then organized to lead the charge in educating our communities and our lawmakers about the growing financial crisis in our schools, while honestly acknowledging this "cause"?

Can Ohioans handle this truth, or will we continue down the road to Greece?

John Herrington

Board spars over words and numbers

Tuesday, May 25, 2010 By CANDY BROOKS ThisWeek Staff Writer

Is the Worthington school district about to fall off a cliff, or were Marc Schare's words just unfortunate hyperbole that could hurt the reputation of an excellent school district?

Members of the Worthington Board of Education seemed split on that question at Monday's meeting, where they took up the heated discussion of finances and the future of the schools.

The discussion began at a board retreat on May 7 and continued at the May 10 regular meeting, when the board approved a grim five-year forecast that would require an operating levy be placed on the ballot next year, and possibly every year or two thereafter.

Schare's words that the district is "about to fall off a cliff unless something is done" and ThisWeek's story about a three-year levy lasting for only two drew a lot of mail from community members, he said.

Charlie Wilson, often at odds with Schare on the board, said the words were "very troubling and hurtful to our district."

The five-year forecast overestimates expenditures and underestimates revenues, he said, and Worthington is a choice district where residents are committed to maintaining quality.

"I am convinced this community will not allow the Worthington school district to fall off any cliff," Wilson said.

Board member David Bressman said he agreed the district would not be the first off the cliff, but he does not want it to be in a line of lemmings falling off a cliff either, he said.

Schare urged Wilson to "do the math."

"We are struggling to operate the district under a series of constraints," Schare said.

Those include a labor contract that allows no discussion of salaries and benefits; parents who object to cost-saving measures such as closing a middle school or reconfiguring elementary schools; a community that will not approve levies in excess of 7 mills; and a state government that issues a "steady stream of unfunded mandates."

Wilson said he objected to what he sees as a constant attack on teachers' salaries and salary scale.

He said that in 2003, Worthington's salary schedule was second from the highest of the 16 districts in central Ohio. By 2009, it had fallen to ninth, and is now eighth.

"I don't think we're overpaying our teachers," Wilson said.

Parent Michelle Dickson also got into the discussion, informing the board that she and other Wilson Hill parents object to the idea of reconfiguring elementary schools.

Under such a plan, each elementary school would either serve kindergarten through third grade, or fourth through sixth grade.

That would essentially be the end to neighborhood schools, and would mean busing students to schools across town, she said.

We do not want to find ourselves in the unenviable position of middle school parents who had no say in the closing of Perry Middle School, she told the board.

Many middle school parents object to sending the Perry students to McCord Middle School next year, but the board made that decision and has stood firm, despite their pleas.

Dickson said she was disappointed to have to learn about the reconfiguration discussion by reading it in ThisWeek Worthington. The issue is not mentioned on the district's Web site, nor were parents informed in any other official manner, she said.

"We parents feel deceived," she said, asking the board for more "proactive communication."

Bressman said that there has been no commitment made to pursuing reconfiguration. It was an idea that he brought up and, along with other potential money-saving measures, he believes it needs to be discussed before a levy is placed on the ballot next year.

Dispatch Editorial: Grim prudence School districts should prepare for bad times as Ohio's leaders dally

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Ohio school-district treasurers deserve sympathy as they attempt to put together budgets for 2010-11, not to mention forecasts for the next five years, with little information about how bad the state budget picture will grow.

The wise, such as Pickerington Local School District Treasurer Dan Griscom, are preparing for the worst. Griscom declared, "I'm being as pessimistic as I can be at this time."

He's projecting a $3.4 million drop in state funding for the 2011-12 and 2012-13 school years, what he calls "a body blow" to the district.

That sentiment won't cheer parents who want their schools to have budgets as robust as possible, but it's the responsible way to deal with the near certainty of sharp budget cuts come July 2011, when state lawmakers have to produce the next biennial state budget. That budget is likely to start out with a shortfall in the neighborhood of $8 billion, because that's how much of the current budget depended on one-time funding sources such as federal stimulus money and accounting gymnastics.

Smart school-district budgeters know that translates to cuts in education funding, but they can't know just how big the cuts will be. Some districts are considering asking voters for new taxes and need to know the state-funding picture in order to decide on a levy request. Meanwhile, those in charge of the state budget are offering little help.

The June 30, 2011, state budget deadline is more than a year away, and under normal circumstances, it would be less than urgent at this point. But current circumstances are dire, and past performance - the months-long fight that preceded the passing of the current budget - suggests the legislature should be starting very early on solving this problem.

But a panel of lawmakers formed in September to seek a budget solution has yet to meet. Nor has Gov. Ted Strickland offered any leadership on the issue. Election-year politics is trumping responsible governing. That's more irresponsible than usual this year, when a budget abyss of unprecedented size awaits.

One thing school districts can count on is not seeing the fulfillment of Strickland's "evidence-based" school-funding formula, which included a number of expensive initiatives, such as smaller elementary classes and all-day kindergarten, with no plan to pay for it. The formula was included in the current budget with the promise that it would be phased in over several years, with full funding achieved by 2018-19. But the money isn't in the current budget and is less likely in the next.

Realistic school administrators know better, and should proceed with the idea that, unless local taxpayers want to substantially raise their property taxes, school budgets are going to have to become leaner. Districts should face the fact that worthy programs will be cut and should be laying the groundwork for those tough decisions.

Another levy in 2011? District leaders say it's needed

Worthington school board members still are trying to find ways to save money, but some parents don't like the ideas so far.

By PAMELA WILLIS Published: Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Worthington City School District voters may see another operating levy request as soon as next year, despite passing a tax issue last fall.

Treasurer Jeff McCuen said the district's new five-year forecast shows expenses exceeding revenue by more than $2.6 million by the end of June, which is the end of fiscal year 2010.

A carryover balance keeps the district from an actual budget deficit until 2014, but the deficit would be a big one that year, McCuen said: more than $15.6 million.

Numbers fluctuate, but what won't change is the bottom line, McCuen said, and the district is now spending more than it's taking in.

McCuen said Tuesday, May 25, that the numbers in the monthly financial report "look like we'll doing a little better than the forecast. We'll still be in deficit spending, but maybe not to that degree."

Voters approved a 6.9-mill incremental levy request in November 2009 after turning down a 7.4-mill tax issue in May 2009.

The bottom line means more cuts or more revenue, McCuen said.

He said a 6-mill levy request in November 2011 would provide $26.4 million -- enough to last through 2014.

Without those funds, a 10-mill levy would be needed in November 2012, with another request on its heels one year later, he said.

McCuen said he never promised the incremental tax issue would be enough to last three years.

Worthington school board members discussed some of the district's financial woes in a workshop held May 7 and the board meeting held May 10. McCuen presented the new financial forecast at that time, prompting board Vice President Marc Schare to say, "Something has to change or we are about to fall off a cliff."

Schare said a change in staff members' negotiated agreements should be considered, instead of cutting more school programs.

Board members responded to Schare's comment and discussed the financial situation again at the board meeting Monday, May 24.

"We are not anywhere close to a cliff," said board member Charlie Wilson.

"I am convinced this community will not allow this district to fall off a cliff -- it just can't happen," he said. "Other districts are much closer to falling off a cliff than we are. I'm firmly committed to keep this district as a district of choice and I think our community is also committed to this."

"I don't want to be in a line of lemmings watching other districts fall off a cliff and say, 'Well, we weren't the first to go,' " board member David Bressman responded.

Bressman said at the work session that changes in the school program should be discussed, such as reconfiguring elementary schools into K-3 and 4-6 buildings, instead of each one holding grades K-6. He also suggested creating a sixth-grade building in Perry Middle School.

Perry Middle School is scheduled to close this fall, leaving only the Phoenix program in the building as Perry students move to the McCord building.

Two parents spoke to board members during the May 24 meeting regarding Bressman's ideas.

Michelle Colter Dickson said "elementary school parents do not want our neighborhood schools changed or to have our children bused across town.

"We don't want to be in the position of the middle school parents, who have no voice in the closing of their school," she said.

Dickson said she is ready to be on a parent-administrator task force "immediately."

Bressman assured her "there is no task force to discuss reconfiguration."

"Nothing has been decided and there are no back-door deals," he said. "I brought reconfiguration up at the work session because I thought we should discuss these things. Nothing is a done deal, but I said what I did because we have to discuss ways to save money.

"I will not vote to approve putting a levy request on the ballot next year unless we have those discussions," Bressman said.

Schare said the district is struggling to operate "under constraints" that include a parent base that seems to indicate changes such as the middle school restructuring and any thought of reconfiguration to save money will be resisted.

"And the community has told us by their votes we cannot expect to pass levies in excess of 7 mills," he said.

He said the state legislature is throwing a steady stream of unfunded mandates at school districts.

"The administration has done what they can by looking for cuts without hurting the program; however, despite the cuts, we are where we are, with the promise of more cuts to come, more community angst and more over-the-top levy campaigns where we have to threaten to cut everything under the sun to win increasingly larger millages at increasingly shorter intervals," he said.

Schare said he hoped board members could use the first two months of summer to look at the state audit report, the Treasurer's Advisory Committee recommendations, "and get on with making the structural changes necessary to get to reasonable levies at reasonable intervals.

"I hope we don't try to start another levy campaign until we do that," he said.

Closing Perry Middle School to save $1-million a year

Wednesday, May 19, 2010 By CANDY BROOKS ThisWeek Staff Writer

Closing Perry Middle School will save the school district approximately $865,000 next year and slightly more than $1-million in each successive year, according to Worthington Schools treasurer Jeff McCuen.

McCuen reported the figure at the May 10 school board meeting.

Parents at three earlier board meetings had requested the figure, and McCuen said he did not know. Then, at a May 7 board retreat, board member David Bressman said it was time the treasurer figured it out.

"To say we don't know comes across as evasive," David Bressman said. "I'm not going to accept 'I don't know' as an answer."

All of the students from the regular program at Perry will be assigned to McCord Middle School next year. Since that announcement in February, many Perry parents have repeatedly asked the board for information and complained about the decision.

"You have simply not convinced me that what you are doing makes dollars and cents," parent Amy Cameron said at the May 10 meeting.

The board decided last August that it would make changes at the middle school level that would save the district $1-million. That decision was part of the process of deciding the size of the levy that was to be placed on the November ballot.

The board had been eying the middle school program for years because the cost per pupil at the middle schools was not only higher than at Worthington's elementary and high schools, but higher than at middle schools in comparable districts.

The Perry building will not close next year, but will continue to house the Phoenix alternative middle school program.

Parents have also repeatedly asked the cost of the Phoenix program, but have not received an answer in public.

McCuen said the $865,000 and $1-million figure cover the savings from certified staff reductions. Eleven teaching positions will be eliminated.

The average Worthington teacher earns $72,000 a year, plus benefits equal to an additional 30 percent, for a total of $96,300. Multiplied by 11 full-time-equivalent positions, the total is $105,930.

The $865,000 that will be saved next year takes into account that 3.5 of those positions will not be covered by attrition. The people holding those positions will be reduced in force, or "riffed."

According to the terms of the teachers' contract, teachers who are riffed have two options.

They can choose to leave work and receive all health benefits and half of their salaries for one year, at which point they will no longer be employed by the district.

The second choice is to continue health coverage and work as pool substitutes. Pool substitutes earn $100 a day and must work 180 days.

There will also be classified positions eliminated when Perry closes, but McCuen said he did not know how much savings would result.

'Three-year' levy to last two years

'We are about to fall off a cliff,' says Marc Schare of district's financial future

Tuesday, May 11, 2010 7:15 PM By CANDY BROOKS ThisWeek Staff Writer

Worthington school district voters approved a three-year incremental property tax levy last fall, but don't expect those three years to elapse before another levy is on the ballot.

Along with a bleak five-year financial forecast, Worthington schools treasurer Jeff McCuen presented on Monday night a recommendation that a levy -- and a bond issue -- be placed on next year's ballot.

Last year's 6.9-mill levy will only keep the district out of red ink through 2013, according to the forecast.

McCuen said that a levy of approximately 6 mills should go on the November 2011 ballot. The continuing levy would only keep the district afloat for two years, then another levy would be needed.

If the levy is postponed until 2012, it would have to be approximately 10 mills, and would only last for one year, he said.

At the same time, the district's capital improvements money is about to run out, and the district must return to voters for another bond issue or be forced to take money for buses, building repairs, and computers out of the general fund.

Both at the Monday night meeting of the Worthington Board of Education and during a board retreat on May 7, board members repeatedly asked the media to convey to the public the seriousness of the district's financial situation. Besides large, frequent levies, residents can also expect to see major changes in programs.

Board president Julie Keegan made the analogy of the district being like a family forced to save money. Until now, the family has saved by cutting back on a cup of coffee a day. Now it is time to move to a smaller house, she said.

Before moving from a 2,500-square-foot house to a 1,100 square foot one, the community should be given a choice, said superintendent Melissa Conrath.

Changing elementary school configuration from kindergarten through grade six to kindergarten through grade three and grade four through six is one of the changes that will probably be considered. That plan was studied two years ago and has been awaiting a revival by the board.

Board member David Bressman also suggested creating a sixth-grade building at the Perry Middle School site and moving the Phoenix program to Worthington Kilbourne High School and putting all kindergarten classes in one building.

However the district decides to reduce costs, the decisions must be made soon, he said. He suggested appointing a task force immediately.

"We've got to start doing something before the end of the school year," he said.

Beginning this year, the district is spending more money than it is collecting. Expenditures in 2010 are expected to be $115.2-million. Revenue is estimated at $112.6-million.

Without a levy or additional spending cuts, the trend accelerates through 2114, when spending is expected to be $133.3-million and revenue $111.4-million, creating a $15.6-million deficit by the end of that year.

Having a major impact on revenues is the state's phase-out of its reimbursement to the district for the money lost with the cancellation of the tangible tax. Worthington was particularly hard hit among suburbs because it collected considerable tangible taxes from the Busch Brewery.

In 2005, the district's tangible tax revenue was $17.7-million. In 2014, it will be $2.6-million.

The district will also take a hit from the stagnant housing market. Until three years ago, property values increased at each three-year valuation. McCuen said he expects to see no increase next year, just as there was none three years ago.

The budget figures could improve if the state or the federal government come through with more support than the treasurer included in the five-year forecast. He included a 10-percent decrease in state support for the next two years.

The forecast assumed no increase in the base salary of teachers in 2012. The Worthington Education Association agreed to no increase during the levy campaign last year.

A one-percent increase for 2013 and 2 percent the following year were assumed in the forecast. Also included are step increases, which usually average approximately 3 percent per year.

Board member Marc Schare asserted that extending the teachers' contract for an extra year was not a wise choice. Now a new agreement cannot be reached until the spring of 2012, instead of 2011. When the teachers agreed to a 0-percent increase, they also agreed to lengthen the contract by a year.

A change in the negotiated agreement is one way to slow increasing expenditures, he said.

And something has to be done besides continually cutting programs, he said.

"Something has to change or we are about to fall off a cliff," Schare said.

No on Issue 3

THE Toledo Public Schools wants district voters, amid a deep recession, to approve a new, permanent income tax on the May 4 ballot to help meet current expenses. Because the school system still has not shown in adequate detail how it plans to contain the cost of its most expensive budget item by far - employee compensation - The Blade recommends a NO vote on Issue 3.

The district says it faces a projected $30 million budget deficit in the next school year - roughly 10 percent of its general fund. The Board of Education approved spending cuts this month that would cover about $12.5 million of that gap. If voters approve the 0.75 percent tax on earned income the district seeks, school officials say no further cuts will be needed immediately.

The proposed tax would not apply to pension benefits, unemployment compensation, or investment income. Still, it would create a new $300 tax bill for a household that earns $40,000 a year.

District officials say the earned-income tax is preferable to yet another hike in school property taxes, especially for retired homeowners on fixed incomes. Opponents contend that despite its exemptions, the flat-rate income tax would be unstable and regressive, falling relatively harder on poorer and working-class households than on wealthier ones.

Advocates of Issue 3 warn that if the school tax plan fails, district students will endure larger classes, big cuts in bus service and crossing guards, reductions in middle-school and less-popular high-school sports, and fewer offerings at the successful Toledo Technology Academy. District officials note that they have not asked for new taxes since 2001, and that the recession has battered the school system's tax base and state aid.

Yet even as the district considers cutbacks in programs and services that directly affect students, it has shown little progress on trimming employee pay and benefits, which account for four-fifths of the district's operating budget.

Of the $30 million in actual and potential spending cuts identified by the district, just $3.3 million are in direct employee pay adjustments. Less than a month before the election, those cuts remain merely proposed.

The district is negotiating with its unions on a proposal that would require represented employees to take a 1 percent salary cut and pay more for their health coverage. Many other workers in Toledo - those who still have jobs - have had to give up much more.

And bargaining on even these minimal concessions has stalled while the district figures out how to pay for the school board's reversal of an administration proposal to close Libbey High School - a decision that will cost the district an additional $1.3 million immediately and much more down the road. Critics contend the district is wasting money keeping other underused schools open as well.

Similarly, pay givebacks agreed to by district executives seem more symbolic than real, at a time when their ballot proposal would inflict tangible pain on external constituents.

It's tough to oppose any funding plan that could spare Toledo's 26,000 public school students from further erosion in the quality of their education. But the district's effort to impose big new costs on taxpayers and new burdens on students and parents, while achieving far too little financial sacrifice from its own employees, including those at the top, is too unbalanced to justify.

If the school system can right that balance between now and Election Day, The Blade will revisit its position on the tax question - and so, we believe, will many other district taxpayers. Until then, though, Issue 3 merits a NO vote.

Parents attack plan to close Perry Middle School

Wednesday, March 24, 2010 By CANDY BROOKS ThisWeek Staff Writer

The plan to close Perry Middle School next year is not proving popular with some parents.

Nine parents and one student addressed the Worthington Board of Education on Monday night, asking the board to rethink the decision to send approximately 150 Perry students to McCord Middle School beginning next year. They said the decision had been made hastily and without parent input.

The decision to reduce the amount of time spent on health education in the middle schools was also questioned.

School administrators announced the decision to close Perry in February, and held a public forum to explain the plan at Kilbourne Middle School on Feb. 18.

The plan is designed to save money. In deciding to place a reduced millage levy on the November ballot following the failure of a May levy, board members chose the middle schools as one place to cut expenses.

The cost-per-pupil is higher at Worthington's middle schools than at either the high or elementary schools. The cost is also higher than in comparable districts, according to Worthington administrators.

Currently, Worthington operates four middle schools. The alternative Phoenix program, with 160 students, is located at Perry. Approximately 150 students attend the regular program at Perry.

The Phoenix program will continue in the Perry building, with plans to expand the program numbers in 2011.

The rest of the students will be transferred to McCord, where enrollment is expected to swell to 530 next year, and to 590 by 2015. The school's capacity is 700.

The enrollment at Kilbourne and Worthingway middle schools is expected to remain steady, at 335 and 360, respectively.

The assignment changes, along with the elimination of team teaching, are projected to save the district $250,000 next year and $750,000 a year each following year, according to district treasurer Jeff McCuen.

At the February meeting, administrators said that 12.5 jobs would be cut. A parent on Monday said that number has been decreased to 10.

The exact number of teachers who will lose their jobs will not be known until May, after retirements are announced, said district spokesperson Vicki Gnezda.

Some parents on Monday said they would have preferred that all of the middle schools be involved in the reassignment, but others said the main concern was that a decision had been made without involving the parents.

The approximately 250 parents who attended the Feb. 18 meeting were not given an opportunity to speak. They were permitted only to write their questions for administrators to answer. Some said their questions were ignored, others said the promise of answers being posted on the district's Web site was not fulfilled.

Concerns about changes in curriculum and organization of the school day were also not well addressed, said parent Kate Whitesel.

"I don't know anyone who wants to hear phrases like 21st century learning again," she said.

The decision had already been made before the February meeting, parent Dawn Tabata said.

Overcrowded hallways, early lunch periods, class size, and the attention to the social growth of middle school students were among her concerns.

"How will it affect children?" she asked.

Worthington Kilbourne student Joshua Cook said he was concerned about health classes being reduced from one semester to nine weeks. The class is influential with middle school students as they begin to deal with issues like drinking, smoking, and drugs, he said.

Parent Lore Dorn-Cook suggested that the number of administrators be cut instead of health education.

The Phoenix program is a "pet project" and a "sacred cow" of the administration, she said.

"It is not a good use of taxpayers' money," she said. "You are showing preference and bias."

Superintendent of Schools Melissa Conrath assured the parents that the middle school's outstanding staff will make sure there is a safe, nurturing environment at McCord, and said four or five parents will be invited to be part of a committee planning the changes.

"We will work with you as we move forward," she said.

Board president Julie Keegan said she was "sad" that the issue created mistrust.

"The channels have not worked as well as we hoped they would," she said.

Global warming no longer hot topic for board

Wednesday, March 24, 2010 1:59 PM By CANDY BROOKS ThisWeek Staff Writer

The global warming debate is over, at least at Worthington Board of Education meetings.

After listening to a second round of debaters on Monday night, board president Julie Keegan said that if residents have concerns about what is being taught in Worthington classes, there are procedures to follow to register their concerns.

"In future meetings, we will not address global warming or how it is addressed in our curriculum," she said after six people -- not all of them district residents -- talked to the board about the divisive climate change issue.

Board member David Bressman waited until the end of the meeting to register his reaction.

"Frankly, I'm sick and tired of it coming before the board," he said.

At both the March 8 and March 22 board meetings, the questioning of a few was met by many more who said that global warming is not scientific debate, but a political and economic one.

The primary global warming questioner at both meetings was Robert Wagner, who listed his address as Honeywood Court, which is in southwest Columbus.

Anyone who thinks global warming is a given is mistaken, he said on Monday. The data on which that conclusion is based are flawed, he said.

Wagner said he would like to set up a debate with Lonnie Thompson, one of the foremost experts in climatology. Thompson lives in Clintonville and was one of the speakers at the March 8 meeting.

Thompson said he would debate, but only against peer-reviewed scientists, Wagner said.

"Peer review is a rigged system," Wagner said.

Richard Gunther, a parent in Worthington and a political science instructor at Ohio State University, said that politics should not be allowed to undermine the quality of education in Worthington.

There is no question that man's consumption of fossil fuels has caused dramatic changes in the world's atmosphere, he said.

There has also been a rapid polarization of political views in this country in recent years, and the global warming "debate" reflects that, he said.

He pointed to radio and television talk show hosts like Glenn Beck, who he said has tried to mobilize his followers to put pressure on school boards.

"Scientific inquiry must remain insulated from politics," he said.

Resident Abramo Ottolenghi compared the debate on global warming to that on evolution. One deferred scientific principles to God, the other to "the god of money," he said.

Worthington parent Andy Katona said he would take his concerns about how global warming is taught to the state board of education, which is rewriting state science curriculum and standards.

Editorial: School officials fret as state-budget woes remain unaddressed

Sunday, February 21, 2010 1:15 AM

Anybody worried about how well household income will stack up against expenses in the next year or two should feel for Ohio's school districts, which must plan for the near future with no sure idea how much money they'll be given by the state. They know only that the picture is likely to get uglier.

School officials should be able to turn to state leaders for realistic advice about how much state aid to expect. But in a campaign year such as this one, no one wants to talk about no-win scenarios such as that presented by Ohio's budget, which was balanced for 2010-11 only by pouring in more than $7 billion in one-time money -- from federal stimulus packages and other sources that aren't guaranteed to be available a year from now, when it's time to write the next state budget.

To be sure, the economy and state budget will be at the forefront of this year's legislative and gubernatorial campaigns, but no one will want to tell voters the simple, unvarnished truth: that Ohio -- along with all its local governments and school districts -- might have to make severe budget cuts or raise taxes or some combination of both to balance budgets beyond 2011.

Most state-government candidates will prefer to talk instead about their plans to boost economic development so that tax revenues increase and people find jobs. While economic development is critical to building a better future, it won't happen soon enough to solve the budget problems that local governments face right now. Ohio has yet to adjust to the fact that its true bottom line is going to be lower for some time to come. Story continues below Advertisement

School officials, who are working on budgets for their fiscal year that begins July 1, don't have the luxury of avoiding the issue.

The convoluted school-funding formula Gov. Ted Strickland wrote into the current state budget only muddies the waters. While the formula calls for substantial school-spending increases through 2019, fiscal reality dictates that, short of an unprecedented economic miracle that boosts state revenues beyond all expectation, the state won't be able to maintain level funding.

Even for the 2010-11 school budget year, which falls in the second half of the current two-year state budget, state funding for many districts could well drop, as state tax revenues lag behind estimates and the previous year's collections.

Beyond 2011, when the bottom truly drops out of the state budget, the picture is likely to be much worse.

Strickland hopes for another round of federal stimulus funding to bail out Ohio and other states as it did in 2009, but that would only worsen the already-dangerous federal deficit and delay the inevitable job of balancing Ohio's spending against the money it can raise in taxes.

Difficult cutbacks are in the state's future and almost certainly in the amount of state aid school districts will receive. What is uncertain is when the state's leaders will acknowledge this and start talking numbers.

Communities served by those school districts need realistic expectations, so they can start figuring out what they will have to live without. The longer those decisions are put off, the harder they will be.

Many are antsy over funding stopgaps

Current 'guaranteed' money means influx of state cash needed in next 2-year budget

Sunday, February 14, 2010 By Jim Siegel THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH 

If an infusion of new state money does not materialize in the next two-year budget, a number of school districts, including many of those surrounding Columbus, could be at the front of the line for funding cuts.

When it comes to state funding for schools, there is the money that the state formula says a district is supposed to get, and the money a district actually gets.

For districts such as Worthington, Westerville, Reynoldsburg, Gahanna-Jefferson, Hilliard, Dublin and Olentangy, that gap has widened considerably.

The dynamic was created by Gov. Ted Strickland's school-funding formula, which was included with the state budget passed last year. A lack of money forced leaders to only partly implement the plan, but many districts across Ohio actually would get less money under the partial plan.

To soften the blow, state officials did two things as an interim step:

• They capped the losses at 1 percent this year and 2 percent in 2011.

• They gave about 400 districts what's known as "guaranteed" or "transition" funding -- money the districts would not have gotten if the funding formula had been allowed to work as written.

But those stopgaps could spell trouble. Generally, more "guaranteed" money today makes it less likely that those districts will get funding increases tomorrow. But projecting an exact impact is almost impossible.

"It's just another significant challenge that is very difficult to measure," said Jeff McCuen, chief fiscal officer for Worthington Schools, which went from $2.9 million in "guaranteed" money in 2009 to $12.1 million in 2010.

All this will not be a concern if state leaders are able to pour significant new money into education for the fiscal-year 2012-13 budget. That might be possible if the federal government comes through with another big stimulus package. The next state budget takes effect in July 2011 but will be rolled out in about a year.

Strickland and Democratic legislative leaders say they are committed to a full phase-in of the new funding formula by 2019, even though it will require several billion dollars.

"There is no desire on my part to see anybody get cut, and we're going to move heaven and earth to make sure that doesn't happen," said Rep. Stephen Dyer, D-Green, a key player in crafting the new funding formula. "I really think there has been a move from both sides of the aisle to really place the utmost importance on education funding. That is a good place to be if you're a school district."

But state tax revenue for January was $108 million below estimates. Through seven months of this fiscal year, tax collections were $1 billion less than in the same period of the previous fiscal year. And the state faces an estimated $4 billion to $8 billion deficit in the next budget, largely because of the loss of one-time state and federal money, much of which went to schools.

McCuen has forecast a freeze in Worthington's funding, but as tax collections fall, so does his optimism. "Concerns are raised significantly as to the state's ability to maintain education funding at the current level. Certainly, school districts that are as deep into the guarantee as we are most likely will be the first to see significant reductions."

David Varda, executive director of the Ohio Association of School Business Officials, agrees. "Those districts have to be aware that in a tough economic time, they are probably going to be the districts" that will be cut, he said.

Much can change in the next biennium. Dyer noted that if certain parts of the formula are phased in, such as the state picking up a greater share of the local contribution to education, some districts might not need more guaranteed aid.

Varda said that if money is available to support phasing in the funding plan, worries should be lessened. But he acknowledged, "that's a big if."

"Is it realistic that we're going to get through this biennial budget without cuts?" he said. "Our school districts have been held pretty harmless compared to their colleagues in other states."

While suburban schools are getting more guaranteed money, the change in the state funding formula has had the opposite effect on Columbus City Schools. It got nearly $11 million in guaranteed money in 2009 but this year gets none. Cleveland dropped from $52 million to zero.

Auditors find ways for South-Western schools to save millions

Cutting district's costs will take cooperation of unions, officials say

Wednesday, February 10, 2010 3:03 AM By Charlie Boss THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

South-Western schools should lower their health-insurance costs, trim the maintenance staff and eliminate some buses, according to a state audit released yesterday.

The performance audit, which the district requested during its August levy campaign, also called on officials to spend $700,000 to replace technology.

Though the district could save about $2.5 million by instituting the audit's recommendations, more than half of the savings would require agreements from the district's unions. The savings would account for about 1 percent of the district's $200 million budget.

But some of the recommendations, such as eliminating positions, would compound savings over time, said Treasurer Hugh Garside.

"We're looking for about $15 million of savings over the next four years," he said. "If the items compound themselves, it could help."

Unlike a traditional financial audit that examines the district's bookkeeping, yesterday's audit analyzed South-Western's operations, including finances, human resources, facilities, transportation, technology and food service.

"Performance audits are management-improvement tools and, hopefully, district officials will take the recommendations and implement the ones they think will be helpful to their district," said Chris Abbruzzese, spokesman for the state auditor's office.

But some of the suggestions would require bargaining with the district's certified and classified unions, including:

• Mandatory direct deposit for all employees.

• Modifying step increases or limiting future wages for classified employees, so that compensation is in line with that at similar local districts.

• Removing provisions in the employees' contracts that hinder administrators' ability to manage, such as requirements on class size, school-day schedules and kindergarten aides.

• Bringing monthly health-care premiums in line with State Employment Relations Board averages for the Columbus area, enrolling more employees in lower-cost health-insurance plans and increasing employee contributions for dental and vision insurance.

• Evaluating incentives that encourage employees to retire.

But some suggestions raise concerns.

A recommendation to create an internal auditor position to review the district's operations would increase expenses, Superintendent Bill Wise said.

And eliminating nine buses from the district's fleet, as suggested, would mean longer ride times for students. Slashing 15 positions in maintenance and operations would meet industry standards, but it wouldn't take into account the district's community needs, Wise said.

For example, the district covers custodial costs when community groups such as parks and recreation departments use the buildings, he said.

Auditors lauded the district's operations in eight areas, including how officials manage workers' compensation costs and provide instruction to specialized students such as gifted and special-needs children.

District officials will compose a response plan to the findings, including whether they will go forward with any of the recommendations.

Bob Ruth, a retired Dispatch reporter who lives in the school district and helped start a citizens' watchdog group called Excellence for South-Western Schools, supports the auditor's health-insurance recommendations. Ruth and his daughter, Cindy Legue, have criticized the district's health-care plan at board meetings.

"The board has been irresponsible in caving in to the union in the past, and I hope they can get some backbone this time for a change," Ruth said.

The district is holding a community meeting to discuss the audit at 7 p.m. Thursday at the South-Western Career Academy, 4750 Big Run South Rd. in Grove City.

   Comments

Letter: Private financial problems don't excuse school district's

Published: Wednesday, February 10, 2010

To the Editor:

Enough of Mr. Graham's (Worthington News, Jan. 17) vendetta against Huntington Bank given his frustration over financial losses. Let's keep focus on the topic, which is reducing teacher pay to ease the financial burden on taxpayers.

To close the books on my Huntington Bank experience, the bank realized $536 million in income, including eight of nine quarters of significant profit, when I worked for it. So much for my "front row seat" as the "banking industry plunged faster than the gas needle on a Cadillac."

As for teacher salary reductions, as outlined in my last letter, recent economic data -- private sector worker productivity -- is the primary justification for my position.

As for questioning my data related to teacher pay, I stand by it 100 percent and challenge anyone to prove it wrong.

As it relates to my position related to teacher pay cuts lacking logic, let's try it for the third time.

Private sector employees have absorbed pay cuts. The same should have been asked of Worthington teachers. The quality of education would have not have suffered as there are many teachers working for exemplary school districts nearby making considerably less that would have taken vacated positions. Supporting data has been presented in previous letters.

Graham's defense of the school board's fiscal incompetence was amusing. While he may find comfort in the fact that other businesses were in worse financial shape, from my perspective, any budget deficit reflects poor management.

While it is nice to see that he has come to support my position of reducing teacher salaries, he has yet to provide a specific recommendation. In a previous letter, he was critical of those taking his current position. Have he changed his thinking?

Finally, I am all for police and firefighters taking pay reductions. We in the private sector have been forced to tighten our belts and there is no reason why the same should not be expected by all within the public sector.

Guy Molde

Audit shows how SWCS can save $2.4M a year

Wednesday, February 10, 2010 2:53 PM By EVAN BROOKS ThisWeek Staff Writer Results of a state performance audit include recommendations that should yield $2.4-million in annual savings for South-Western schools. Almost all the savings would require collective bargaining to be accomplished.

The results, released officially Feb. 9, indicate that the bulk of annual savings - $1.4-million worth - should come by placing more of the cost burden on employees for medical insurance. Another $588,000 could be saved annually by doing the same for dental insurance costs.

The audit was conducted by state auditor Mary Taylor's office at the request of the district, which paid $68,800. The district's annual budget is nearly $200-million.

The audit also recommends elimination of 15 full-time and one part-time nonteaching jobs, plus eliminating the use of seasonal groundskeepers, all saving the district a total of $761,000 annually.

The audit recommends district officials eliminate nine active buses, as well, saving the district $305,000 a year.

The audit also says the district should spend an additional $700,000 annually to fully fund a five-year replacement schedule for technology.

South-Western treasurer Hugh Garside said the district already spends $500,000 annually on technology replacement.

"We recognize there are some things we need to do better," Garside said.

Superintendent Bill Wise said the audit gives his administration ways to be as efficient as possible.

"We want to make sure we make the best use of taxpayer dollars as we continue to move forward," he said.

Wise and Garside recognize health care costs are an impediment to district efficiency.

"We've made changes, but we need to continue to work hard and continue to make changes," Wise said.

He said in order to shore up a $15-million budget hole in the next three years (attributed mainly to state education cuts) his administration will need to work "hand-in-hand" with union employees, a community advisory group and performance audit results.

He added health care costs are an issue for nearly all employers across the nation.

The audit points out 29 areas that could be improved, mostly in district operations.

It also praises the district in eight areas: specialized instruction, workers compensation premiums, enrollment projection, classroom inventory and building utilization, transportation plan, network infrastructure, software application integration and the technology inventory system.

The audit highlights 35 other areas in the district's operations that are "in line with benchmark and standard organizational practices."

"(Auditors) really do say we do an outstanding job in many areas," Wise said.

Wise said district officials will release a response to the audit recommendations. He was unsure exactly when that would happen.

District officials have invited the community to a town hall meeting to discuss the audit at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11, at the South-Western Career Academy, 4750 Big Run South Road.

According to the audit, district data was compared to different peer groups, including similar school districts in Ohio. It also compared data to standards outlined by the Ohio Department of Education, State Employment Relations Board and other national auditing benchmarks.

Wise said the audit "validated at least 43 occasions areas where we are implementing best practices."

He and Garside drew attention to the district's per pupil expenditure number as validation.

South-Western spent $9,336 per pupil in school year 2007-08, while its peers spent $10,108, a difference of $773 per pupil.

The average number for school districts in the state is $10,184 per pupil annually, a difference of $848 per pupil from South-Western.

District critics have said South-Western employs too many administrators. According to the audit, the district actually employs fewer administrators per 1,000 students than 10 other peer districts across Ohio. South-Western employs 4.9 administrators per 1,000 students, which is 0.2 less than its peer average, according to the audit.

Also, South-Western spent about 9 percent less per pupil than its peers on administration in school year 2007-08.

     Comments

District to move some middle-schoolers around next year

Wednesday, February 10, 2010 1:10 PM By CANDY BROOKS ThisWeek Staff Writer

Changes in assignment patterns and in program structure are in store for Worthington's four middle schools.

Probably beginning next school year, all traditional students attending Perry Middle School will go to McCord Middle School, and team teaching will be replaced with a program that includes eight class periods each day at McCord, Worthingway, and Kilbourne middle schools.

Details of the changes have not been finalized, and parents are invited to hear about the plans and to give their input during a meeting set for 7 p.m. Feb. 18 at Kilbourne Middle School.

The changes are expected to result in a savings to the district, Superintendent Melissa Conrath said. Budget reductions became necessary when voters approved a 6.9-mill incremental operating levy in November.

When the school board decreased the size of the levy after a 7.4-mill levy failed last spring, it acknowledged that reductions would be necessary.

"We are trying to identify ways to increase efficiencies without hurting the quality of the program," Conrath said.

The cost of operating the middle school program is higher per pupil than the high schools or the elementary schools, district spokesperson Vicki Gnezda said. The middle schools' costs also are higher than those in other central Ohio districts, she said.

Currently, the district operates the four middle schools. The alternative Phoenix program and about 150 students in a traditional program share the Perry building.

Those students are to be moved to McCord, which could house all of the students, Gnezda said. The redistribution of students is expected to last about five years, when the currently sagging middle school enrollment is expected to rebound.

Meanwhile, officials plan to expand the Phoenix program.

Moving the Perry students to McCord is expected to save money because of the reduced repetition of services.

"We will use the three buildings we have now to accommodate our students," Conrath said. "We are not planning to close a building."

What will be closed is the team-teaching approach that has been used for more than two decades. Students are assigned to a team of teachers who work together and stay with the same students much of the school day.

The new program will resemble the old junior-high program, though administrators seem to shy away from using that terminology.

"We are looking at a blended model," Gnezda said. "We are looking at restructuring the school day."

School salary schedules called 'cost-prohibitive'

Wednesday, January 27, 2010 11:46 AM By PAUL COMSTOCK ThisWeek Staff Writer

It will take more than freezing base salary and step increases to solve problems inherent in the pay systems of Ohio public education, said Van Keating, director of management services for the Ohio School Board Association.

Largely because of the economy, some citizens are calling for the South-Western school district to negotiate a freeze in base salary and step increases with its unions this year.

The Reynoldsburg school board on Jan. 19 approved a freeze in base and step salaries for its employees until July 31, 2011.

Such a freeze is a short-term step that doesn't address larger problems of how school union contracts are negotiated, Keating said. The original intent of school employee salary schedules "has been severely perverted over time and has become cost-prohibitive," he wrote in the OSBA School Management News in October.

In that article on school salary indexes and in an interview with The Record, Keating said two elements of teacher and school employee compensation -- base pay and step increases -- originally were designed to serve two different functions.

Base pay, he said, was designed solely to provide cost-of-living increases so teacher and school employee pay can keep pace with inflation, "to keep a dollar worth a dollar."

Step increases served a different purpose, particularly for teachers, he said. Awarded during certain years of a teacher's tenure, step increases increase pay based on a teacher's years of experience and any additional education he or she receives.

"The more experience (teachers have), the more they are worth to the district," Keating said.

"That was really your raise, because you are worth more," he said.

School worker unions have sought to change all that, Keating said. Unions "like to talk about the base salary increase. They have it in their minds that's where they have their raise. ... Clearly the thinking has gotten convoluted," he said.

In his article, he wrote, "Unions put unrelenting pressure on districts to increase based salaries based on a litany of reasons: ability to pay, comparable data, average teacher salaries, fairness, etc. Every argument was advanced except that of inflation, so teachers began to regularly receive base salary increases that exceeded it. Discussions about raises based on the (salary) index were dismissed as if the index was divinely decreed and to argue otherwise was heresy."

In their bid to increase base salaries, he wrote, unions sought changes in certification and licensure standards and increased tuition reimbursement. "Schools reimbursing employees for tuition while simultaneously advancing them on the salary schedule has significantly added to the overall cost of indexes statewide."

He also wrote, "It is important to consider that merely taking a break from the effects of a salary index does not mean it, or the problems,will go away the following year. Freezes are a short-term treatment, not a permanent one."

Several districts have salary schedules that were "no longer sustainable. ... Unfortunately, there is no quick or easy fix to realign salary schedules other than through the method that created the problems to begin with: collective bargaining," his article said.

His article contained other criticisms of widespread salary practices, including those that discourage teachers from retiring.

He told The Record that South-Western, Westerville and Hilliard school districts all will negotiate contracts in 2010. "All of them really are in some ways within a whisker of each other with their problems," he said.

The Reynoldsburg pay freeze is part of a one-year contract extension for its teachers and classified employees.

The Ohio Education Association, the umbrella organization for most local Ohio teachers' unions, did not return a message seeking comment for this article.

Wilson berates Schare, says he should not be board vice president

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

By CANDY BROOKS ThisWeek Staff Writer

Marc Schare might be a man of "great character" and "enormous integrity," but he is not qualified to be vice president of the Worthington Board of Education, according to board member Charlie Wilson.

Wilson made a 15-minute impassioned plea before the board on Jan. 11. He asked fellow board members to not elect Schare as vice president.

His plea fell on deaf ears: The remaining board members voted 4-1 to make Schare vice president. Julie Keegan was unanimously elected president for 2010.

Schare likely will become president next year, as the vice president from the previous year traditionally fills that position. That idea does not please Wilson, who heaped generous praise on Schare prior to criticizing him for allegedly not supporting board decisions, rejecting the offer of the Worthington Education Association to freeze the base salary next year and rejecting the most recent contract with the teachers' union, among other charges.

Wilson said that in 2006, Schare voted against a proposed levy and wrote a letter to the editor, stating why residents should vote against the levy. Such action, Wilson said, violated Schare's responsibility as a board member.

Last November, Schare voted to place the levy on the ballot, but on his Web page said his personal vote on the issue depended on the message of the campaign committee.

Wilson called that "a huge disservice to the people of Worthington."

Wilson said he also objected to Schare's recent letter to the editor, in which he wrote that some teachers are paid too much, others are paid just right, and some are paid too little.

"I'm concerned about the impact of that letter on teachers," Wilson said.

He also accused Schare of violating a board member's code of ethics by urging Sen. David Goodman (R-New Albany) to vote against a bill that Wilson said would have benefitted the district and other districts across the state.

"I'm not convinced Marc's greatest concern is the welfare of all public schoolchildren," Wilson said.

Outgoing board president David Bressman said he was disappointed with Wilson's comments, especially because Schare's family and friends were present to see him take office.

Bressman said he sometimes disagrees with Schare, but that does not mean he is not qualified to be board president.

"The comments you made tonight serve to divide this board," Bressman said. "I wish you had thought this out a little bit more."

Asked if he wanted to answer Wilson's accusations, Schare told ThisWeek that he chose not to at this time. Instead, he said, he is studying some of the factual information presented by Wilson and will rebut his comments during the next board meeting.

Schare made a brief prepared statement at the end of last week's meeting. He said it has been a privilege and honor to work with the board.

There is broad agreement in the district, he said, adding that on the few issues about which the board disagrees, debate has always been respectful and productive.

"I am so grateful for the continued opportunity to serve this community, and while 2010 may indeed be a time of renewal for our school district, the decade-long tradition of absolute excellence is something that will never change," Schare said.

Letter: Worthington schools' plight preferable to Huntington's

Published: Wednesday, January 20, 2010

To the Editor:

Guy Molde's response (Worthington News, Jan. 6) to my last letter made me even more appreciative of the wisdom of Somerset Maugham: "I can imagine no more comfortable frame of mind for the conduct of life than a humorous resignation."

Molde either did not understand or conveniently forgot that I actually agreed with his proposal for pay and benefits cuts for Worthington teachers. Granted, I think Molde's percentages are excessive, and his letter reinforced my thinking because it was an emotional outburst that lacked logic.

I didn't state that Molde still worked at Huntington Bank. I wrote that his thinking about public employees' pay and benefits cuts was shaped by his experiences as a middle manager at the bank. I wasn't sure where he is currently working, but apparently he was with Huntington from 2006-2008 and it was during that time that the banking industry plunged faster than the gas needle on a Cadillac, and Molde had a front row seat. That had to have shaped the words and tone of his letter.

As to qualifications for public flogging because of mis-management, Molde suggests that the Worthington Board of Education members rank ahead of the directors and managers of his former employer. A statistical analysis is in order.

A $14 million short gap in the annual Worthington school district budget would have been 12 percent of the current year's $114.8 million operating expense. Between the last quarter of 2007 and the last quarter of 2009, Huntington stock value declined 82 percent and its dividends by 96.7 percent. Twelve percent versus 82 percent and 96.7 percent is fifth-grade arithmetic and Huntington loses hands down.

That isn't to make light of Huntington's situation. After all, I own a number of its shares and I'd have been perfectly happy to have to only dealt with a $14 million problem with the local school district.

The most important point, however, is that all public employee unions should make pay and benefits concession, not only for the public good but for that of the unions as well. I expect police and firefighters to be included in those concessions. Does Molde agree?

Dick Graham

Reynoldsburg schools: 2 unions passing up pay hikes next year

Sunday, January 17, 2010 By Dana Wilson The Columbus Dispatch

Unionized teachers and classified employees in the Reynoldsburg school district have agreed to forgo raises during the 2010-11 school year.

The school board will hold a special meeting Tuesday to vote on the pay freezes negotiated with the Reynoldsburg Support Service Association and Reynoldsburg Education Association.

The district faces a $4 million deficit next year after voters turned down a 9.9-mill operating levy request in November.

The unions' offers, combined with administrative salary freezes already planned for 2010-11, would save the district more than $1 million, said Tricia Moore, district spokeswoman.

The Reynoldsburg Education Association, which represents the district's teachers, approved a one-year contract extension that forgoes "step increases" and cost-of-living raises.

The Reynoldsburg Support Service Association, which includes secretaries, bus drivers, custodians, maintenance workers, cooks and others, recently approved a two-year contract that freezes salaries through July 31, 2011.

The concessions are "extraordinary examples of shared sacrifice aimed at cutting the budget while trying to protect educational quality," Superintendent Steve Dackin said in a news release.

Board member: New vice president doesn't deserve job

Board disagrees, votes Schare as veep

By PAMELA WILLIS Published: Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Consensus became contention at the Worthington school board's organizational meeting this week as one board member stated publicly why another board member did not deserve a vice president position.

Board member Julie Keegan's election as the new president of the board was unanimous at the board meeting Monday, Jan. 11, at the Worthington Education Center.

Keegan held the vice president position last year, and the Worthington school board typically has slid the vice president into the presidential spot each year.

Electing this year's vice president was a different story.

Board member Charlie Wilson objected to the nomination of fellow board member Marc Share and stated why he would vote "no" for Schare's election to the vice president position.

Wilson read an Ohio School Board Association definition of a "good school board member" that stated a board member has a responsibility "to support a decision when it is made."

"I am not convinced Marc embraces the concept that it is his legal obligation to support the board once they have decided on an issue," Wilson said.

Wilson said Schare had voted against putting the 2006 operating levy on the ballot -- which Wilson said was Schare's right -- but that "10 days after the vote to put that levy on the ballot, in my opinion, Marc openly violated his responsibility to support the decision by arguing against the public passage of the levy.

"For the 2009 levy, his behavior was even more disappointing, in my opinion," Wilson said. "He said on his Web site his vote for or against the levy 'was up for grabs' and announced he would support the levy only if he agreed with the campaign language and the way the campaign was conducted. So he was announcing he would support the levy only if his demands were met."

Wilson said if Schare were elected vice president of the board, he would likely end up in the leadership position of president because of the board's past election practices.

"In my opinion, moving Marc into a leadership position would be a disservice to the district," Wilson said.

Wilson also said Schare had published a letter to the editor about Worthington teachers "being paid too much, too little and some just the right amount.

"I am concerned that he claimed some of the teachers may not be earning their salaries," Wilson said.

Wilson went on to say, "I believe Marc is an outstanding human being and I have enormous respect for Marc as a person.

"I also want to say this is not a divided board; we've always been able to disagree without being disagreeable," Wilson said.

David Bressman, last year's board president, said he was "very disappointed" about Wilson's comments.

"I find your comments disheartening," Bressman said. "You say this board isn't divided, but comments like that can serve to divide it.

"Lord knows Marc and I have had hard conversations over the last eight years, but I am very disappointed that what should have been a happy occasion, with many of Marc's family here to see him elected vice president, has turned into this kind of scene," he said.

Board member Jennifer Best agreed with Bressman.

"Marc has attended many more school functions than most of us and I believe he is always acting in the best interest of the students and the public," she said.

Schare didn't comment on Wilson's words before Keegan asked for a vote. Wilson was the only board member to cast a "no" vote for Schare.

Schare made one comment at the end of the meeting.

"January is a time for renewal, and it has been my privilege and honor to work with each of you," Schare said. "Our discussion and debate has always been respectful and you can't ask for more than that."

The next regular board meeting is set for 7:30 p.m. Jan. 25 at Worthington Education Center, 200 E. Wilson Bridge Road.

Let's see levy campaigns based on just the facts

By GARTH BISHOP, COMMENTARY EDITOR

Published: Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Scanning through our series of "Year in Preview" stories last week, I happened to spot a few detailing school districts' plans to put levies on the ballot in 2010.

I can already hear the protests.

Campaigns opposing school levies have always pretty much sounded the same, and the state of the economy has only made the trend more prominent.

"The people can't afford it" and "The schools don't deserve it" are the two most significant rallying cries. Now the former applies to a much larger chunk of the population, while the latter's comparisons between the public and private sectors are all the more noticeable given the sacrifices made in the private sector.

Those arguments are true for some, but they're overgeneralized. No school district is without a single resident who can afford the levy, and no district budget is entirely devoid of worthwhile expenditures.

Pro-levy campaigns should be subject to the same scrutiny of overgeneralization. They love to trot out the "Your kids' education will suffer if you don't pass the levy" mantra and the "Hey, the state gave us a good rating -- that proves we deserve the money" line.

But they know those things by themselves don't really work anymore. They must go beyond empty campaign platitudes and point to hard facts: cuts made, concessions granted, promises kept.

I'm sure people will question the truth of some things proponents of last fall's successful levies said. But there's no denying the campaigns went beyond what was expected.

Organized levy opposition tends to go beyond the campaign platitudes and dredge up district documents to reinforce points. But thanks in part to pro-levy campaigns' much greater resources, it seemed only a handful of people went really deep into statistics to support anti-levy arguments.

A lot of post-election letters lamenting levy passages placed all the blame for that passage on school promises they don't expect to see kept. But none took any responsibility for their own role in failing to defeat it.

"No" voters truly dedicated to defeating a levy can't just rely on the local opposition campaign. These campaigns might not be able to send out the same types of campaign fliers or garner the support of prominent local officials, but they can point to the arguments against the levy -- preferably ones that aren't antagonistic, as antagonistic arguments tend to alienate voters -- or even get their hands on some district figures and make their own arguments.

Pro-levy campaigns have figured out that they can't get a levy passed on guilt alone. They have to find the best facts to support their point and get them passed along to as many voters as possible.

Anti-levy campaigns know they can't rely entirely on guilt, either -- but getting their data passed on to voters is tougher. That's where individual voters have to get involved, calculating and then disseminating their own information.

You can be one of those people. Maybe you'll find in the district's data something far more likely to garner "no" votes. Or maybe you'll realize the district really is trying its best.

But either way, you'll be much more convincing.

Keegan, Schare elected board officers

Wednesday, January 13, 2010 By CANDY BROOKS ThisWeek Staff Writer

Newly appointed school board president Julie Keegan, right, congratulates newly elected vice-president Marc Schare after swearing him in at the board meeting on Jan. 11. By Chris Parker/ThisWeek Newly appointed school board president Julie Keegan, right, congratulates newly elected vice-president Marc Schare after swearing him in at the board meeting on Jan. 11. Julie Keegan and Marc Schare were elected president and vice president of the Worthington Board of Education on Monday.

Keegan's election was expected, as she served as vice president in 2009. The vice president historically steps into the president's position.

Schare's election was less predictable, since he was passed over for the position last year. At that time, some members accused him of "having his own agenda" and not being a "consensus builder." Keegan was unanimously elected on Monday.

The vote on Schare was 4-1, with board member Charlie Wilson voting "no."

Schare is beginning his second term on the board. He and David Bressman and Jennifer Best were re-elected in November. They were sworn in on Monday.

The board also made annual appointments to boards, commissions, and organizations for 2010.

Appointed to the Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA) as legislative liaison was Wilson; delegate and alternate delegate to the annual assembly meeting of the OSBA, Keegan and Schare; student achievement committee, Best and Wilson; board representative to Metropolitan Educational Council, Keegan; share solutions committee, Wilson and Schare; liaison to city of Worthington, Keegan; OSBA- SALT, Wilson; finance committee, Keegan and Schare; liaison to Worthington Education Association, Wilson; liaison to Worthington Libraries Board, Best; communications committee, Bressman and Schare.

Survey says: residents pleased with life in the city

Wednesday, January 13, 2010 By CANDY BROOKS ThisWeek Staff Writer

Residents are overwhelmingly pleased with the quality of life in Worthington.

They especially like their strong neighborhoods, the accessibility of the city to central Ohio attractions, and the high-quality schools.

Concerns include stormwater drainage, street repair, economic development and crime prevention.

And if residents were forced to cut city services, the top choice would be parks and recreation facilities.

Those are some of the results of a recent telephone survey of 200 city residents done by a company called Communica, which was hired by the city, Worthington City Schools and Worthington Libraries to help with a collaborative strategic planning process.

The company called 600 randomly chosen registered voters. Two hundred were asked questions about the schools, and 200 about the libraries.

On Monday night, Bill Grindle of Communica presented the results of the city's portion of the survey.

The results of all three will be presented again on Jan. 22 and 23 at a community planning session called a visioning conference. Fifty to 60 community members have been invited to take part to help put together a plan for the future of all three entities.

The outcome for the city will be a plan to help guide future decisions. The schools and the libraries will write their own plans.

Worthington city manager Matt Greeson said he will present a draft for council review before the final plan is written.

"I am optimistic we will have a written plan this calendar year," Greeson said.

Grindle told council on Monday that, according to survey results, the favorite things about living in Worthington are neighborhoods and friendly people; central location; and the high quality of the schools.

Fourteen other qualities were also mentioned.

Asked what makes the city unique in comparison to other central Ohio communities, respondents said neighborhoods/friendly community/small town feel; excellent schools; and antiquity/history/older community/architecture.

The top three answers to the biggest challenge facing the city were school system funding/quality; financial crisis/poor economy; and the high cost of property taxes.

Asked to rate the performance of city government, survey respondents gave high grades. Ninety percent agreed or strongly agreed the city provides programs and service the community needs; 85 percent said the city is well managed; 80 percent said the city is headed in the right direction; and 65 percent said the city uses its money wisely.

"Overall, residents are pleased from a governance standpoint," Grindle said.

The survey compared what residents said was important to the performance of the city in the same area.

In most areas, performance was aligned with expectations.

Some of the exceptions were crime prevention, street repairs, and stormwater drainage. In each case, performance did not keep pace with expectations.

Economic and business development also proved to be an area of concern to residents. Sixty percent rated it as important, but only 38 percent rated performance as high.

A question that may be asked more frequently in the coming months was what items residents would consider reducing or eliminating if necessary because of funding issues.

The top answer - 59 percent - was "don't know."

The next most frequent answers were parks and recreation facilities, 29 percent; arts programs, 22 percent; holiday decorations, banners, programs, 20 percent; and lead/yard waste collection, 18 percent.

Local newspapers was the preferred method of communication, with 37 percent answering that it was how they get most of their local information. Other answers were e-mail, 28 percent, and mail, 25 percent.

The respondents were mostly female (65 percent); over age 65 (34 percent); household income between $100,000 and $150,000 (24 percent); had a four-year college degree (40 percent); and were married (70 percent).

Operating levy campaign: Health care provider biggest donor

Wednesday, January 6, 2010 By cbrooks@thisweeknews.com ThisWeek Staff Writer

The company that provides health insurance to employees of the Worthington Schools was the biggest contributor to the November levy campaign.

United Health Care Services contributed $10,000 to Worthington Community for Schools to use to persuade voters to approve the 6.9-mill incremental operating levy.

The levy was approved by a 60-40 margin on Nov. 4.

The campaign committee collected approximately $89,000 and spent approximately $60,000. Most of the money came from hundreds of individual contributors in amounts of $100 or less.

United Health Care was by far the biggest contributor.

Others who gave more than $1,000 to the cause include the Worthington Education Association (the teachers' union), $5,000; Huntington National Bank, $2,500; Joseph James & Associates, $1,500; Limbach Co., $1,500.

Those who contributed $1,000 include Worthington Kilbourne PTO, Thomas Worthington PTSO, CARDS Inc., Wolves Athletic Association, Central Ohio Realtors PAC, Microimage Inc., and Bricker and Eckler LLP State PAC.

Bricker and Eckler is law firm that represents the district.

The campaign committee spent approximately $60,000, according to finance reports filed with the Franklin County Board of Elections on Oct. 22 and Dec. 10.

Besides covering the expected yard signs and local advertising, the contributions funded the services of a Cleveland public relations firm and a Texas-based elections consultant.

Burges & Burges of Cleveland was paid approximately $24,000 for consulting, data lists, and reminder calls.

The Tyson Organization of Fort Worth, Texas, was paid $3,146. Its Web site states that it conducts "telephone voter turnout and grassroots advocacy programs for Democratic and non-partisan clients."

A company called Strategies Unlimited, 988 Circle on the Green, Columbus, was paid $4,500 for a survey.

The campaign committee inherited $15,000 left over from past campaigns.

A balance of $44,265 will be available to future levy campaigns. School officials have said that another operating levy could be on the ballot as early as 2011.

Letter: District should look to private sector's reductions

Published: Wednesday, January 6, 2010

To the Editor:

If Mr. Graham's (Worthington News, Dec. 23) letters are to have credibility, he needs to get his facts straight.

He cites my employment with Huntington Bank as the reason for my recommending that Worthington teachers absorb a pay cut much like that experienced by the private sector. Such an observation is ridiculous, as I have not worked at Huntington Bank for nearly two years.

Mr. Graham also infers that private sector pay cuts have been driven by a reduced demand for goods. This is also without merit.

Over the last two quarters, private sector worker productivity, driven by higher output and reduced pay, has increased at levels not seen since 2003. This indicates that demand remains, with private sector employees of all types being required to produce more while earning less as businesses struggle with other financial factors.

Related to the district's fiscal state, Mr. Graham suggested a "public flogging" of the board if our school system had been as badly managed as Huntington Bank. Perhaps he ought to get his whip ready given the following.

The district faced a budget shortfall of $14 million and the potential of having key education programs eliminated just a month ago.

While Worthington teachers are paid the 12th highest average salary in Ohio to achieve an exemplary Performance Assessment, eight school districts within 25 miles -- employing over 1,800 teachers -- pay their teachers at least 20 percent less while achieving a high rating.

While teachers at surrounding school districts have had their pay frozen, Worthington teachers continue to average a 5 percent annual pay raise when all designated increases are applied.

Despite arguments to the contrary, the facts remain. The financial distress experienced by the district was in line with that of the private sector that found pay cuts necessary and the quality of education provided students would not have been compromised by pay reductions given the close proximity of financially motivated, highly effective teachers.

With the next contract renegotiation, consideration ought to be given to decreasing teacher salaries. While contrary to the standard "throw more taxpayer dollars at it" solution, reducing expenses by over $5 million annually -- under a 10 percent pay reduction scenario -- makes the effort worth it.

Guy Molde

Letter: Teacher pay freeze wouldn't have disastrous consequences

Published: Wednesday, January 6, 2010

To the Editor:

Dr. Ottolenghi (Worthington News, Dec. 16) opined that a pay freeze would result in teacher losses -- I assume he means "losses at an unacceptable rate." I must respectfully disagree.

Does anyone really believe that there would be some sort of mass exodus if pay were not increased 5 or 6 percent over a two- or three-year period? Sure, a few teachers might look elsewhere, but that's a positively rosy scenario when compared to failed levies and the resultant educational cuts.

State funding for our district is in decline; taxpayers at the local level must pickup the slack. Voters can understand this and might be willing authorize the next levy if this is the primary issue. If teacher pay raises can't be checked, the primary issue next levy time will once again be teacher pay.

Our teachers and administration are doing a great job -- can the board show some mettle and do the same?

John Toth

District steels for 2010's financial, enrollment challenges

Worthington leaders will have their hands full in the new year as funds dwindle and enrollment increases at the elementary schools.

By PAMELA WILLIS Published: Tuesday, January 5, 2010

The Worthington City School District is struggling like most school districts in a tough economy, but 2010 also will bring enrollment challenges as leaders continue to move ahead with a school renewal process.

Superintendent Melissa Conrath said she would have to look back before envisioning the year ahead, because one of the reasons 2010 can be a successful year is the passage of Issue 49, the 3.9-mill incremental levy.

"The passage of Issue 49 was a significant accomplishment for the district, along with achieving an 'Excellent with Distinction' rating on the state report card," she said. "Passing the tax issue was vital to our ability to provide the revenue to support our program."

Passing the tax issue doesn't mean the district's financial problems are over, however.

"Because we went for a reduced millage amount and a phasing in of levy dollars, we will generate less dollars than the issue we had on the ballot in May," she said. "With the uncertainty of the state budget, we know we'll lose 1 percent of state funding this year and 2 percent next year.

"We're hoping that is the extent of it; however, currently there is an uncertainty as to whether the state will be able to provide even that level of funding," she said. "We will also see a dropoff of revenue because of the phasing out of the tangible property tax. We're being reimbursed for that right now, but the law doesn't extend beyond fiscal year 2012, so that could be a very significant decline in revenue."

Conrath said the district once again will have to revisit expenditures and make reductions.

"We need to make reductions because we want to be able to work with our community from the funding and revenue side to be able to request reasonable levies at reasonable intervals," she said. "The financial challenges and how we respond to them is important so that we do not diminish the quality of our Worthington school district."

Fluctuations in student enrollment also will be a challenge in 2010.

"We have experienced some decline in enrollment over the years, which is now at the middle school and high school, yet are beginning to see an increase in enrollment at the elementary level," she said. "The challenge that creates is, how do we most effectively house our students?"

Conrath said the increase in enrollment at the elementary school level means more buildings at capacity.

"We are running out of room and will not be able to accommodate the projected enrollment in our elementary buildings, some of which are at capacity," she said. "Yet we have excess capacity at the middle grade levels and with our current attendance patterns will have excess capacity at Worthington Kilbourne High School for several years.

"So we're dealing with how to best utilize our buildings and our capacity to house our students," she said.

Several years ago, a decline in enrollment at the elementary school level led to the merging of Liberty and Sutter Park elementary school students into the Liberty building.

The district currently houses preschool classes and some special-education classes at Sutter Park.

Conrath said school leaders will be seriously looking at and planning for a restructuring of the middle school program this month and next month.

Another major challenge will be making sure students are prepared academically for an increasingly global society.

"Our core purpose is to prepare students for their post-secondary plans," she said. "We need to make any changes that will best prepare students in the core academic areas to enter a world that is different than the world we have had in the past. Technology will play a major role in that."

Conrath said all Worthington school buildings have been working on school renewal plans to best prepare students for 21st-century learning.

Some of those plans, such as the International Business Academy at Worthington Kilbourne and the Entrepreneurship Academy at Thomas Worthington, already are in operation.

"We have been using the renewal process to reflect upon and become familiar with what the skill areas will be for those students and have to determine how we can redesign ourselves or position ourselves in a way that will provide students with the opportunities to develop the skills they need," she said.

Dispatch Editorial: School-funding panel should begin with look at Ohio's budget reality

Monday, January 4, 2010

For members of the Ohio School Funding Advisory Council, this is an inauspicious time to begin their task of recommending how much the state should spend on schools. Without a penny to spare in the current biennial budget and a mind-boggling deficit of billions of dollars looming in the next one, the group will find no gravy to spread around. In fact, cuts are more likely.

But the 28-member panel, which meets for the first time on Thursday, can do the state a great service if members recognize that fact and focus their efforts on devising the best possible school-spending plan with the limited resources available.

That would be a change from what some have seen as the council's mandate: to decide what schools ideally should have and tell the legislature how much to allocate, regardless of how much money is available or how much any other state program needs -- all based on a faulty assumption that school spending forever will increase.

That idea that education, among all the critical services delivered by state government, should be exempt from the give and take of competing funding needs never was reasonable. Now, given the state's straitened circumstances, it's impossible.

Unfortunately, the budget law that created the panel doesn't encourage practicality. It enshrines Gov. Ted Strickland's preoccupation with the inputs of education, the idea that schools will be successful if they just have a specified number of teachers, counselors, classrooms and the like. Besides being a transparent gift to teachers unions, the checklist approach has little provision for fostering innovation and encouraging those programs that work better than others.

The panel also, by law, is stacked with people bound to have a vested interest in the education status quo, not to mention a financial interest in bigger education budgets. Of the 28 seats, 13 are reserved for people directly involved in preschool-through-12{+t}{+h}-grade education. Only one person represents the public, and one seat each is saved for the business community, philanthropic organizations and the Ohio Academy of Science. Two are from higher education and four represent charter schools. The remaining seats go to the governor or his designee and four people named by leaders in the Ohio House and Senate.

Without doubt, the panelists will hear from the usual chorus of school-spending boosters. To do its job right, the council also should hear from the state budget director and tax commissioner and others who can keep the process grounded in fiscal reality: How much will the state have to spend on education in the 2012-13 biennium?

The answer, barring an economic miracle or a federal bail- out that would sink the nation further into debt, is likely to be less than the education establishment deems adequate.

That leaves the council with a job far more important and harder than lobbying for a bigger share of the state treasury. It means paring down a large wish list to those items that will do the most to improve the academic performance of Ohio's children.