CLYDE - Clyde-Green Springs Exempted Village School District is making another attempt at passing an operating levy.
The district is seeking approval of a three-year, 4.9-mill levy on the Aug. 2 ballot. Voters rejected the levy in May.
Superintendent Gregg Elchert said the district is getting less revenue and has cut $1.6 million from the budget. Teachers agreed to a contract that will save the district $400,000, classified employees already agreed to a wage freeze, administrators' salaries are frozen, and he voluntarily is taking a 3-percent reduction in his salary. Positions are being eliminated and unions are making concessions, he said.
"We can't do it all with cuts," he said.
Elchert said the levy would generate $1.08 million annually and fund general operating expenses of the district, such as fuel, salaries and utilities. The owner of a $100,000 home would pay about $150 annually, according to the district's website.
The district has lost more than $1 million in funding since the 2008-09 school year and has experienced rising utility and health care costs.
Fact Box
Absentee ballots
Absentee ballots for the special election for voters in Clyde-Green Springs Exempted Village School District are available at the Seneca County Board of Elections office, 71 S. Washington St., suite 1101.
Absentee voting can be done in person or by mail. The board must receive a request signed by the voter before ballots can be mailed.
Applications by mail for ballots must be received by the board by noon July 30.
Applications may be requested by calling (419) 447-4424.
Elchert said the school board has cut $600,000 from the budget for the upcoming school year, which is in addition to $1 million it cut over the past two school years.
"We've tried to stay ahead of ... what we knew was coming. Most of that is personnel, and most of that was done through attrition," he said.
The district is to have five fewer teachers compared to last school year and eliminated a satellite program offered through Vanguard-Sentinel Career and Technology Centers.
From the 2009-10 school year to the 2011-12 school year, the board cut 13 teaching positions, a building administrator, three aide positions, a maintenance position and a custodial position. Also, the hours of six classified staff employees were reduced, Elchert said.
Last week, the board approved a two-year agreement with Clyde-Green Springs Education Association, which represents the teaching staff, that includes a wage freeze and longevity step freeze in the first year, Elchert said. Teachers will pay an additional 1 percent of their insurance premium each year, he said.
The amount of money the board puts in teachers' flex spending account is going to drop to $1,800 in the first year and $1,200 the second year, he said.
Elchert said the changes in insurance and pay freeze will save the district about $400,000.
He said at last week's meeting, the board of education discussed what would happen if the levy were to fail.
"No decisions have been made. ... If it does not pass, the board could decide to place it on the November ballot," he said.
Elchert said board members said they would consider changes to transportation services before they would look at cutting additional personnel, which would have an adverse effect on class size and programs the district could offer students.
Board members also talked about increasing the participation fee for extra-curricular activities, eliminating field trips and eliminating extra-duty activities at the elementary level, he said.
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