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The Strongsville school board has sent a letter to Gov. John Kasich asking him to freeze the amount of funding to the district (Bob Sandrick/Northeast Ohio Media Group).
STRONGSVILLE, Ohio -- The Strongsville school board sent a letter to Gov. John Kasich Wednesday asking to cancel proposed state funding cuts to wealthier school districts, including Strongsville.
Instead, the board wants Kasich to freeze state funding for districts that have made significant budget cuts over the years. The board believes Strongsville is among those districts.
The board says the district has already absorbed $4.7 million in state cuts since 2007. Kasich's 2016-17 budget proposal calls for another $4.1 million in cuts in Strongsville.
"Our district cannot absorb this major funding cut without devastating the quality of our education to residents," the board says.
Kasich's spokesman, Rob Nichols, countered that the Strongsville district has lost more than 1,600 students, or 23 percent of its student population, since 2009.
"I'm hard-pressed to figure out how a (funding) formula could look at that situation and possibly reward them with more money," Nichols said.
The board says it disagrees with Kasich's premise that districts like Strongsville can more easily raise money through local tax increases, since residents living in those districts are more affluent. About half the state's districts would receive more money under the proposed budget.
"Our taxpayers should not be penalized because you believe there is capacity to increase local taxes," the board told Kasich in the letter.
See the board's entire letter to Kasich below.
On Wednesday, Board President Carl Naso told Northeast Ohio Media Group that he hopes the letter will get results.
"If we don't make our case, nothing will happen, so we will make our case and make it often," said Naso, who added that the board will send representatives to the state budget hearings.
Copies of the board's letter also were sent to Strongsville city officials, state Sen. Thomas Patton and state Rep. Michael Dovilla. Patton and Dovilla could not be reached Wednesday afternoon.
Reducing & producing
This year, Strongsville schools are receiving $12.8 million in state funds. Under Kasich's budget proposal, the amount would drop to $10.7 million in 2016 and $8.7 million in 2017. That's a total loss of $4.1 million, or 32 percent of Strongsville's 2015 state appropriation.
In its letter, the board provided examples of cuts the district made on its own. The district:
- Reduced its operating budget from $74 million in 2011 to just under $68 million;
- Reduced its employee roster by 20 percent, from 941 workers in 2007 to 755 in 2014;
- Reduced total salaries by 17 percent, from $44.2 million in 2009 to $36.8 million in 2013; and
- Reduced worker benefits by 21 percent, from $23 million in 2009 to $18.2 million in 2013.
Also, the district saves between 16 percent and 30 percent a year on utility costs by participating in a buying consortium, the letter says.
Despite the reductions, the district is providing an excellent education for students, the board says. On the 2014 state report card, the schools met 95.8 percent of state standards and received an A for overall student progress. The graduation rate is 93.4 percent and all students passed the Third Grade Reading Guarantee exams.
Meanwhile, residents passed a tax increase to pay for a new middle school and the renovation of Strongsville High School. The district does not qualify for state construction funds.