Superintendent declares district in ‘emergency’ as levy vote looms

Steven L. Thompson was named the superintendent of Willoughby-Eastlake School District almost 10 years ago, and since his tenure, the district has seen both good and bad times

Still, Thompson is positive that with the help of the community, this district can be revitalized.

Thompson, with a military background, took a change of pace and started working in school administration after receiving a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and teaching at Heidelberg College followed by a master’s degree in special education at The University of Toledo.

Starting as a teacher in Toledo public schools, Thompson worked up to athletic director, to assistant principal and later principal of West Liberty-Salem Local Schools.

After his tenure in West Liberty-Salem, he moved on

to become the superintendent of Chagrin Falls Schools in 2007. Since leaving there, he has been with WilloughbyEastlake Schools since 2011.

Back in 2015, Thompson made a big push for a 3.99mill bond issue that passed with 51 percent of the vote. This bond generated around $115,750,000 to build two new high schools and an elementary school and repair existing buildings.

Since then, the district has fallen on hard times.

In November 2019, Willoughby-Eastlake Schools sought a continuous tax levy to cover operational costs that ultimately was defeated by voters. The 4.99-mill tax levy was to help with ongoing operational expenses and replace a loss of funding.

This loss led to over $2 million in immediate cuts for the school district. The cuts affected all non-athletic supplementals including band, choir, and cheerleading.

The levy would have generated roughly $8.5 million to replace cuts in state funding. If a planned March levy vote is defeated, $6.5 million in additional cuts are expected.

“We are in a state of emergency,” Thompson said.

Since the November loss, Thompson has been on a campaign to engage community members for their help since 75 percent of homeowners in the district don’t have school-age children.

“This levy is critical for the operation of our school district and it is $8.5 million emergency operating levy and that is to replace those losses of funds from the state of Ohio,” he said. “And we are also working on our strategic plan that will be completed by the spring of 2020.”

Thompson said if this next levy fails then the district is looking at “significant loss.”

“The cuts already in place will remain, and some more significant ones will have to be made,” he said. “We hope people get registered if they have not already and that people come out and vote.”

Thompson