MENTOR, Ohio — News 5 has been digging into the financial struggles of local school districts.
On Wednesday, we heard from people in Mentor after the school board approved a new-money levy for the May ballot.
And on Thursday, News 5 Anchor Katie Ussin had the chance to sit down with the superintendent and discuss why the district feels it’s necessary and why now.
"I think the one thing that we want our community to understand is we provide an unbelievable service to the students and families in our community at a relatively reasonable cost," said Craig Heath, superintendent of Mentor Public Schools.
And to continue doing that, Heath said they’ve decided to place a five-year, 4.9-mill levy on the May ballot that will generate $13.5 million a year for the district.
If approved, it would cost property owners about $172 a year per $100,000 valuation. Based on current data from the Lake County Auditor, the average home value in Mentor is about $242,000, which would result in an estimated annual cost of about $415 per year if the levy were approved, according to a district fact sheet.
It is a significant cost for some residents.
"How do you address those concerns," asked Katie.
"When you look at our portion, and again this is different for every school district across the county, ours is about 67% of our money comes from local taxes and we are currently the second-lowest Class 1 tax rate in the entire county," said Heath.
He said Mentor is fortunate to have a large business community, which helps with lowering that tax rate for property owners, but said they know it’s a big ask.
"One of the things we have instituted here over the last four years since I’ve been here is we’ve done a reduction plan," he said.
Currently, Heath said the district is in year one of a five-year, $10 million reduction plan that’s already cut more than 30 positions.
"It's cutting administrators, teachers, support staff, and then some of those other support mechanisms with our building and department budgets, as well," he said.
He said they have a little more flexibility this year due to 28 teachers retiring at the end of this school year.
“So, with every retirement we’re looking very closely at that particular position," he said.
They are looking at whether the position is still needed, can be reduced, or if filled by someone else with similar certification within the district that might have less impact on student achievement.
He said the board also recently passed a resolution to reduce administrative benefit packages for next year, with no raises and a reduced cell phone stipend.
Heath said Mentor was in fiscal crisis in 2004, and since then, they’ve been doing more with less and have made significant reductions.
"We've closed buildings," he said. "We’ve sold buildings. We’ve consolidated buildings. We’ve redistricted, and we’ve reduced our staffing in proportion to our student enrollment."
The last time Mentor passed a new-money levy was in 2016.
"Is there ever a scenario where a school district does not need to go to the voters and ask for some kind of levy to support and generate funding for the district," asked Katie.
"Under the current system, the simple answer is no," said Heath.
He said that is because Ohio public schools still don’t have a fully-funded state school funding plan yet.
The state share for Mentor is 22%.
Heath said recent property tax relief for county residents will cost them about $2.2 million once it is fully implemented.
However, Heath said when he arrived as superintendent nearly four years ago, the district's financial forecast had projected they’d likely need to be on the ballot at about this time, due to deficit spending and a projected rise in costs like health care, benefits and utilities.
"The challenge that we face is we’ve got an aging community in Lake County and we want to make sure that we’re providing that relief to some of our senior citizens, but at the same time we’re also educating and preparing that next generation of students to be citizens in this county," said Heath.
And if the levy does not pass, Heath said, "We're looking at an additional $3.4 million in cuts."
He said that it will touch all facets of employees.
"So, we’re looking at some additional administrative cuts, additional teaching cuts, additional support staff," he said.
Plus, possible reduced services for transportation and additional programming costs for families.
"We're very, very hopeful that with this passage we’ll be able to maintain everything that we currently have with our class sizes, with our programming," said Heath. "With a levy failure, some of those things are going to change."
According to the district, Mentor currently has seven elementary schools, two middle schools, one high school, a preschool building, and a school dedicated to students with autism that serves surrounding communities, as well. Mentor has about 6,500 students and just under 1,000 employees.
"I think the biggest thing here in Mentor is we offer a wide-variety of opportunities for our kids," said Heath. "We’re able to provide services to students that are unique and are going to set them apart when they graduate, and that’s what we hope to continue. We’ve had great support over time and we hope that support continues."
Mentor Public Schools will host three upcoming community town halls to discuss district finances, the operating levy on the May ballot, and more.
All meetings will begin at 6:30 p.m.
March 26 will be at Ridge Elementary School.
March 31 will be at Shore Middle School.
April 8 will be at Memorial Middle School.
