Centerville schools put levy on ballot

The district has cut $10 million in the last three years and says the levy is needed to sustain district operations.

CENTERVILLE —

The Centerville Board of Education unanimously approved placing a 5.9-mill operating levy on the Nov. 6 ballot.

The continuing levy would generate $4.9 million in 2013 and $9.8 million annually, starting with fiscal year 2014. It would cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $180 per year.

District officials said levy proceeds would sustain district operations for at least the next three fiscal years and fund the district’s operations for teachers, textbooks and technology, as well as day-today operations.

The millage of this levy is the same as that from the November 2008 levy that failed, and the May 2009 levy that passed. Before 2008, a Centerville City Schools levy hadn’t failed since 1994.

“Typically, once we start deficit spending is when we look at putting a levy on ballot,” said Tom Henderson, Centerville superintendent. “We will probably spend $2 million more than we take in this year, and another $8 million more (than we would take in) next year.”

The five-year forecast provided by the Ohio Department of Education supported that assessment, and reported that Centerville City Schools spent $81.2 million in fiscal year 2011, projected to spend $84.4 million in 2012 and expected to spend $87.2 million in 2013.

Before approving the levy placement, the district polled a small segment of the community in a 29-question telephone survey completed in March.

The 303 registered voters who responded, 72 percent of whom did not have children enrolled in the district, resoundingly voiced approval for the district. Close to 47 percent also said they thought the levy was the best financial option, followed by the choice of “make more cuts” at 39 percent.

Annie Self, who has two kids in Centerville City Schools, said she supports the levy within limits.

“I don’t want the money squandered, but I think they’ve cut as responsibly as they possibly can,” said Self, a longtime PTO president and trauma nurse at Children’s Medical Center in Dayton. “We moved to Centerville because of the school system. I have no complaints.”

Centerville was rated as “Excellent with Distinction” on the 2011 state report card and has been rated at least “Excellent” for 13 straight years.

Henderson said the district, like others in Ohio, has been hit hard by state and federal cuts. The district lost nearly $7 million in state funding for fiscal year 2012 alone, and has seen local revenue decline as property tax collections have fallen.

“I believe we could have stretched this money even longer if we hadn’t had these cuts,” Henderson said. “We’ve cut over $10 million in the last three years.”

If the levy fails, the superintendent said more cuts would be made. Henderson said they would be determined by the beginning of the next school year.

“How I see it is the bull’s eye is always on the classroom, and the concentric circles that emanate out are the things that make a district great,” Henderson said. “Those are great opportunities for students, but those are the things we would have to look at.”

Kathy Gilbo, a Centerville resident who retired from teaching at Dayton Public Schools, said she also supports the levy but only because further cuts are not appealing.

“To me, there’s no alternative if you want to continue at the high levels we’re operating at,” Gilbo said. “On the other hand, when are these levies going to stop? There has to be a better way to fund the school systems.”

Other school districts with levies on the November ballot include Beavercreek, Huber Heights and Valley View. Districts considering levies include Dayton, West Carrollton and Miamisburg.