School leaders outline cuts likely in Bellbrook

District to tighten belt to save nearly $750K regardless of levy.

The district outlined how it will save $747,083 over two years but said more cuts are planned if a levy request fails next month.

Bellbrook’s school board on Thursday night approved two sets of budget cuts — one set that will definitely take effect this fall, and a second set that would go into effect only if voters reject a tax levy on the March 17 ballot.

District officials said the definite cuts will save a total of $747,083 over the next two school years. Those cuts will include elimination of middle-school foreign language classes and the intermediate school gifted program, as well as delay of computer purchases and parking lot repaving.

Pay-to-play fees will increase to $200 per sport (a $50 bump), and the school will divert $50 of each band/color guard fee to the general fund. One teaching position will be eliminated, and two language and gifted teachers will face involuntary transfer to fill vacancies. The cost of the all-day, every-day kindergarten option will increase

by $900 per year.

District officials say those cuts are needed no matter what, because current finan- cial projections suggest the schools would run out of money in four years even if next month’s levy passes.

“Bellbrook-Sugarcreek Local Schools is at a critical juncture, and the single most important issue facing our schools right now is our budget,” Superintendent Doug Cozad said Thursday. “Making cuts is never easy, and these are never decisions that we take lightly. ... Any reductions hurt the overall experience that we provide to our residents and their children.”

Residents will decide in the March 17 election whether to approve a new, perma- nent 5.7-mill property tax levy to pay for day-to-day school expenses. The levy is projected to cost the owner of a $100,000 home $199.50 per year and would generate an annual $3.3 million for the school district, according to Greene County Auditor David Graham.

Cozad has argued that the school district “has a reve- nue problem, not a spend- ing problem.” He points to a state performance audit that says Bellbrook-Sugar- creek taxpayers shoulder less of the school funding burden than their peer districts.

Levy opponents, led by resident John Stafford, argue that their community should not blindly follow whatother communities do. Stafford argues that the school district should cut teachers’ pay to save money.

The district has made multiple rounds of budget cuts since 2018, and all employees have agreed to a pay freeze for 2020-21.

Cuts if levy fails

If t he March levy is rejected, Bellbrook-Sugarcreek schools will make another, larger round of budget cuts approved Thursday night. The district says those cuts would save $2.46 million over two years.

T hose changes would include:

■ Busing would be eliminated for high school students, and offered only to those middle and intermediate school students who live more than 2 milesfrom school.

■ The district would eliminate 85 paid “supplemental contracts” — stipends ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars for assistant coaches, science fair advisors, student council directors and more.

■ Pay-to-play fees at the high school would rise to $300 per sport.

■ Class cancell at ions would include art and STEM at the elementary and intermediate schools, plus middle-school keyboarding and sixth-grade art.

■ Four bus drivers and three teachers would be laid off, while a half-dozen other teachers/staff would be transferred to cover open positions.

■ Staff training would be cut, new curriculum/textbooks would be delayed, certain electronic curriculum subscriptions would be non-renewed and the contract with an outside communications firm would not be renewed.

Contact this reporter at 937225-2278 or email Jeremy. Kelley@cmg.com.