Edgewood board OKs first step for May levy

District has made millions in cuts, but levy funds expire in December.

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By Marie Rossiter, Staff Writer Updated 10:42 PM Monday, February 8, 2010

TRENTON — The Edgewood City Schools Board of Education took the first formal step toward an emergency renewal levy Monday, Feb. 8, approving a resolution of necessity for this May’s election.

The school board met in a special session and in a 5-0 vote decided to ask voters to renew a five-year levy set to expire in December.

The emergency renewal levy would not be a new tax for residents, according to district spokesman John Thomas.

When originally passed in 2005, the 6.9-mill levy generated $2.5 million annually for Edgewood schools and cost owners of a $100,000 home approximately $211 per year.

The final numbers on the renewal levy were still under discussion today and could not be confirmed until after the meeting, said Thomas.

Concerns about the district’s financial future were raised during the board’s Jan. 25 meeting. Board members said the levy should be on the May ballot.

“We need to be prudent and plan for the best, but expect the worst,” said President Jim Wirtley.

If approved by voters, levy funds can start being collected in the calendar year following its passage. The deadline to file with the Butler County Board of Elections for an issue to appear on the May ballot is Feb. 18.

The slow economic recovery makes any levy request a challenge, said Thomas, but cuts in state funding have made making ends meet even harder for schools.

“We are cutting costs as much as possible,” Thomas said. “And, this is only the beginning.”

Some of Edgewood’s cost-saving measures, according to officials, include a $2 million reduction in salaries and benefits, pay freezes for all administrators and non-exempt employees; a 5.5 percent reduction in staff over the next two years, including one administrator; hiring freezes except replacements for current positions; a 50-percent reduction in overtime and extended-time pay; a 25-percent reduction in summer help; reduced substitute teacher rates; and the elimination of four supplemental contracts.

An additional $1 million in cuts, officials said, will come from a 10 percent reduction in all budgets, including purchased services, supplies and materials as well as building budgets. The district has also renegotiated the telephone and copier contract and eliminated all cell phone contracts as well as intradistrict mileage reimbursement for administration.

Staff

riter Tiffany Y. Latta contributed to this story.

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