The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
32 school district jobs could be cut
Action slated to be taken on proposed reduction at virtual meeting on May 26
The Fairport Harbor School Board is slated to vote on a reduction in force plan that would cut 32 positions,
If the board approves the RIF on May 26, the jobs would be eliminated July 31, according to Paolo’s letter.
The Fairport Harbor School Board is slated to vote May 26 on a reduction in force plan that would cut 32 positions, held by employees ranging from teachers to classroom aides to custodians.
Specifics of the reduction in force, also referred to as a RIF, were outlined in a May 14 letter from Superintendent Domenic Paolo to Fairport Harbor Education Association President Jennifer McCauley.
The letter was to comply with contractual obligations between the district and its employees union.
“In this instance, our negotiated agreement requires at least 60 days prior to implementation (of a RIF),” Paolo stated in an email on May 18.
When broken down into categories, the proposed RIF would eliminate 12 full-time teaching positions, two half-time teaching positions, two certified nonteaching positions, one full-time school support staff position and 15 parttime school support staff positions.
If the board approves the RIF on May 26, the jobs would be eliminated July 31, according to Paolo’s letter.
“This reduction is significant but necessary due to financial reasons and/or decreased enrollment,” he wrote. “The looming deficit reflected in the board’s financial forecast and additional cuts in state funding shows that the board is facing a budgetary shortfall of approximately $1.1 million.”
He said the School Board will be making cuts elsewhere, but noted that personnel costs account for 80 percent of the district’s budget.
Earlier this year, Paolo and other leaders of Fairport Harbor Schools highlighted some of reasons behind the district’s financial struggles, as they campaigned for passage of a 4.47-mill additional operating levy that would have generated $250,000 annual for five years. As it turned out, district voters rejected the levy in the March 17 primary.
Leading up to the primary, Paolo said the levy was needed to keep up with rising operating expenses, “chiefly in the form of escalating health care costs.” Meanwhile, district Treasurer Lew Galante pointed out that the district was spending more on growing needs in special education.
Paolo also noted in February that the district needed to bolster its funding because of “a relatively flat state budget.” Since that time, though, the state’s financial picture has darkened considerably, as tax revenues have plummeted because of the sharp economic downturn caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
On May 5, Gov. Mike DeWine announced spending cuts totaling $755 million for the rest of this fiscal year, which ends June 30. Those budget reductions included $355 million for Ohio schools.
Looking beyond June 30, it’s uncertain how much Ohio tax revenues overall will decrease during the 2020-21 fiscal year, and what impact that reduction would have on state education funding and Fairport Harbor Schools in particular, Galante said.
In addition, Fairport Harbor Schools and other local government entities might see a decrease in property tax revenue for the rest of 2020 because of homeowners losing jobs and having other financial problems during the COVID-19 crisis, Galante said.
“We have no clarity on our revenue stream for next year,” Galante said, regarding the district’s economic outlook.
With so many uncertainties regarding the district’s finances going into the upcoming academic year,
Paolo said the RIF proposal was developed as “a worstcase scenario based on the maximum possible revenue loss.”
He also said the district still is unsure at this point if schools will reopen for 2020-21 with an online, traditional or hybrid format.
“My hope is that recalls (of employees impacted by the RIF) can be made strategically as more information becomes available,” he said.
Paolo explained that formulating plans to recall employees would require “more clarity about what is going to happen to our state revenue and the conditions under which we can restart (classes in 2020-21).”
The Fairport Harbor Education Association’s fourmember executive board is scheduled to meet May 20 with Paolo and Galante to further discuss the RIF and district finances, McCauley said.
In addition to serving president of the 66-member union, McCauley is a middle-school science teacher. She’s also one of the teachers who would lose a job if the RIF in its current form is approved on May 26.
McCauley said it was around May 11 when rumors of a possible RIF began circulating among union members. She said Fairport Schools staff was first told about the proposal by principals in online meetings on the morning of May 14.
At noon on May 14, she received a letter from Paolo indicating the district’s intent for a reduction in force, along with a list of affected employees’ names.
McCauley said Paolo met with the union’s executive board later in the afternoon of May 14, and then held a video conference meeting with entire staff on May 18.
In both meetings, Paolo said that since it was uncertain if school would open with an in-person, online or hybrid format, he was not immediately sure of which positions could be recalled or when that action could be taken, McCauley said. He didn’t answer other specific questions about staffing or finances, she added.
The School Board’s May 26 meeting will be held remotely through video and audio conference. Members of the public can join the meeting through a link on the school district’s website, fhevs.org.
McCauley said if the board were to reject the current RIF proposal, a revised personnel-reduction plan could be introduced.
“But the board also has the ability to tell (Paolo) that no RIFs are wanted,” she said.