$1 million cut for 2012, reconfiguration of buildings and more to help reduce costs
Emily Bartelheim
News Editor
One million dollars have been cut in costs for the current school year in the Wooster City School District. As a result of these budget cuts, scenarios have been proposed to reconfigure which school buildings will continue to operate and which buildings will be closed.
“The district must look to identify another round of reductions for next school year to offset the continued loss of tangible personal property tax reimbursement from the state,” according to the Treasurer’s Article in the January 2012 Wooster City School District Newsletter.
There are currently six elementary school buildings in operation (Cornerstone, Kean, Lincoln Way, Melrose, Parkview and Wayne), one middle school (Edgewood) and one high school (Wooster High School). The elementary schools teach kindergarten through sixth grade, Edgewood Middle School teaches seventh and eighth grade students and Wooster High School grades nine through 12.
The January 2012 Community Newsletter lists three possible building reconfiguration and consolidation scenarios. Scenario one: Wooster High holds grades eight through twelve, Edgewood five through seven, the elementary schools kindergarten through four and Cornerstone and three of the remaining five elementary schools to stay open (two buildings would close). Scenario two: Wooster High holds grades eight through 12, Edgewood five through seven, Cornerstone three and four and three of the five remaining elementary schools would host kindergarten through second (two buildings would close). Scenario three: Wooster High holds grades eight through twelve, Edgewood five through seven, Cornerstone kindergarten and first and three of the five remaining buildings would host grades two through four (two buildings would close). No decisions have been made regarding which buildings will be closed, according to the Newsletter.
On Tuesday, Jan. 24, a detailed cost savings report, based on the aforementioned closing of two elementary schools as part of this district building reconfiguration plan, was presented to the Board, according to The Daily Record.
At the meeting, “Dave Kocevar, director of business and community affairs, outlined figures for completely closing or ‘idling’ a building, which he said would require one-third the utility expenditure of an open building,” said Linda Hall’s article in the Jan. 26 issue of The Daily Record. Kocevar pointed out that “closed” buildings would have to be maintained in some fashion because the buildings are not to be sold. “You’re not going to hear us talking about pulling a building down,” Superintendent Michael Tefs told The Daily Record, unless the district had a partner in shouldering the significant expense.
Kocevar said that the formula for estimating savings for closing or idling buildings (including maintenance, transportation and service costs, etc.), depending on which buildings are closed, results in a reduction of about $55,649. A complete chart of operating expenses for each building and estimated savings for idling can be seen above. However, no matter the scenario chosen for which two buildings will be closed, the estimated savings are about $250,000. That leaves around two-thirds of the budget cuts for the year still to be taken care of, so the question remains whether or not the savings from these scenarios will be sufficient.
Another area where it has been discussed that money can be cut is through the attrition of higher-paid employees. These are generally employees that have been in the schools for the longest duration and therefore have more experience in the field. But Tefs thinks “we can get there (to the $750,000 a year needing to be cut and $250,000 taken care of) without turning our academic program upside-down,” he told The Daily Record.
Also potentially on the chopping block is the central office (the renovated former post office) located at 144 N. Market St. The first two steps in selling this building (obtaining a state-certified appraisal and a completed title search) are already in the process, Kocevar said.
Charts and information on the facility optimization programs can be found at the “facility optimization” link on the left of the www.woostercityschools.org homepage.