Saturday, january 26, 2002
Fostoria's Lowell School falls to budget ax
By Cathy Willoughby
Staff Writer
FOSTORIA - When the school bells ring next fall, one building's halls will stand empty in the Fostoria Community Schools district.
Superintendent Sharon Stannard announced her proposed reduction plan to cut $1 million from the 2002-03 budget Friday to teachers at the affected school, Lowell Elementary. Other staff members in the district heard that afternoon, after Stannard brought the proposed cuts to a session with the employee unions Thursday.
The district's board of education is meeting in a special session at 5:30 p.m. Monday to consider the proposed cuts.
Closing Lowell alone will result in savings of $550,000, Stannard said. Total savings expected from the proposed cuts are $1,080,189.
The reductions will eliminate 17 full-time equivalent certified teaching positions in the system. Administrative reductions are also to take place; one to two building administrators positions will be eliminated, as well as the business/transportation manager and assessment specialist positions.
To accomplish the redistribution of the students, the schools will be realigned. Field will consist of students in grades pre-K, kindergarten and first grade. Riley will have some pre-K classes, and grades two and three. Longfellow will house all students in the fourth and fifth grades.
Stannard said that Lowell was chosen because it was landlocked, and was located in the middle of the location of the other buildings. This would also make it easier to transport the children. Busing, however, would increase, with two or three drivers rehired from earlier cuts, due to the young age and distance the children will need to travel.
Lowell would never be re-opened. Plans are to offer the building at auction along with the old administration building. Stannard added that the Ohio School Facilities Commission has studied the district's buildings, and recently determined that only two elementary schools would be needed in the future.
"They looked at our projected enrollment and it shows a steady decline over the next 10 years,'' Stannard said. "Like it has the past 10 years.''
The realignment of the buildings by grade levels will be a plus for the district's educational programs, Stannard said.
"It will be a more efficient use of materials and resources for the classrooms,'' she explained. "Having first-grade teachers scattered throughout the district discouraged collaboration. And it's a positive for the kids. Having 5-, 6- and 7-year-olds all together will be better for things such as playground development.''
"It's a much more efficient cost to educate children with a more enhanced program,'' she added.
Reductions will eliminate seven elementary teachers, one elementary art position, one half-time position in physical education at the elementary level, one half music position, one elementary secretary, three aides, two custodians, one half time to one food service position.
At the Fostoria Middle School, three positions will be eliminated, two sixth grade teachers and the technology/career lab teacher. At the high school, eliminated would be two English teacher positions, one math position, one science, one health, and driver education will no longer be offered by the district.
Even if the 7.9-mill general operating levy passes Feb. 5, the cuts need to be made. The November 2001 election was the last opportunity for district residents to provide operating funds for the district in the 2002-03 school year.
Stannard said she has asked staff in the district to let her know early if they were planning on retiring or relocating to another area.
"If they can notify me in writing as soon as possible, there will be less layoffs,'' Stannard said. "But teachers have until July 10 to make decisions according to their contract. Yet if they know they are planning to retire or maybe their husband has another job and they are leaving the district, to let me know. Then we wouldn't have to go to the full 17.''
The teachers' reaction was "very somber, very serious'' when they were told of the reductions, she said.
"Everybody was very attentive,'' Stannard added. "They realize that this is a very slippery slope.''
If a levy is not passed soon, the 2003-04 budget will need to be cut another $1 million.
"At that point we will be going into program cuts,'' Stannard admitted. Current cuts do not affect successful programs, which have meant so much to students, such as Keystone Academy, the connections farm, sports and music programs.
"We can't take away programs that are important to our kids,'' she said. "We have effective alternative programs, strong music and co-curriculars, and special education programs. You don't want to start that kind of destruction.''