To vote Thursday on whether to place a 7.95 mill continuous operating levy on the Aug. 7th ballot. It would generate $525,000, a year for the 632-student district. With an annual budget of $7.1 million.
The Enquirer 2/87/12 B3

Expenditure per student Lockland $12,520; Mason $10,125
Constant deficit spending depletes cash balance.
Planned health care benefits will increase 18% in fy13; 8%fy14; 5% fy15; 8% fy16.
No base salary increase or step increase factored into salary costs for fy12, fy13, and fy14.
Average teacher salary $49,929 fy11
Students per teacher 16 fy11

On Wednesday (2/2/12), the Indiana Senate passed the Right to Work bill to free nearly 200,000 Hoosiers who have been forced to pay union dues or fees for the privilege of getting up every day and going to work so they can provide for their families.

Governor Mitch Daniels signed the bill a few hours later, making Indiana America’s 23rd Right to Work state.

Fordham The State of State SCIENCE Standards 2012

Ohio receives a B.

A recently completed agreement between the Benton-Carroll-Salem school board and the union representing the district’s teachers will save the district about $300,000, according to Rick Bast, board president.

The new contract includes a roll-back of 2.5 percent on the teachers’ base salary and increases the teachers’ insurance contribution to 15 percent.

Bast said the union agreed to re-open contract talks early. The current contract had been scheduled to expire next June.

“The board appreciates the teaching staff for opening their contract and shouldering some of the burden of cost reductions,” he said, adding more than $1.2 million in cost savings were enacted by the start of the 2011-12 school year.

The savings include staff reductions, elimination of some bus routes, and the closing of Rocky Ridge Elementary School.

The board last month approved an austerity plan that includes closing Graytown and Carroll elementary schools if an operating levy on the Nov. 8 ballot fails.

The schools would be closed starting with the 2012-13 school year, reducing personnel by six teaching and 10 non-teaching positions.

Cuts to begin January, 2012 if the levy fails include implementing a pay-to-participate fee for athletics as well as a fee for using school facilities, a fee for “Biddy “ programs, and a transportation fee for field trips.

Voters in the B-C-S district rejected a 3.9-mill levy in August – the same millage amount that will be on the November ballot.

If passed, it would generate about $1.32 million annually.

Bast noted the school system hasn’t received new voted tax millage for 11 years.

The district ended the fiscal year on June 30 about $35,178 under budget but expenses exceeded revenues by about $1.7 million, with the deficit being made up from a carry-over from the previous year.

James Baker Community Press guest columnist

The Indian Hill School Board has a rare window of opportunity to make an interesting business decision. Past boards were advised to consider the possibility of consolidating school districts. It would be best to consider the wise use of taxpayer money by using this potential cost reduction.

There would be immediate cost reduction due to an overlap of expenses. It is possible that we could immediately save twice more per year, than with our healthcare costs. There would be an ability to share facilities for certain subjects. During this time of declining enrollment from the village of Indian Hill, it would offer greater utilization of our facilities, which we are told, are in “excellent condition.”

Everyone on the school board has an important job to accomplish when not acting as board members. The future of our schools and the trust of the Indian Hill taxpayer are equally important. Two such equally important jobs can require more brain energy than each member may be able to offer.

This investigation will require a lot of time and effort. There will be the need for travel and meetings with prospective candidates. Does the board have the time to consider these things; or, will their day jobs be too demanding?

It took many years to decide to do something about our school healthcare costs. I suspect that it was difficult to do the homework, and finalize the process, due to the time required by each member for his or her regular duties. Will this recognized need, that the day job comes first, be too pressing to give their all to the task of running the school as an efficient business?

Business executives make these types of decisions quite frequently. They often involve many more dollars, and may be international in scope. These executives are paid to devote long hours to the task of getting their companies profitable. Can our board members offer the time and energy needed to consider school consolidation, on a timely basis?

Europe will be in a recession during 2012. This is the majority opinion of their leading economists. According to the BBC, “Europe faces an enormous overhang of accumulated government and private-sector debt, much of which is now not repayable.” When bad debts are written off, someone takes a loss. Some of these debts are held here in the US.

According to the office of the U. S. Trade Representative, “U.S. exports to the EU accounted for 21 percent of overall U.S. exports in 2008; and, it is directly responsible for roughly 7.1 million jobs.” With Europe in a recession, and imports of our goods down, how will this affect our economy next year?

The good news, housing has bottomed here, and car sales are up. We need this 1-2 economic punch to begin to pull our economy up.

We must do all in our power to maximize our tax dollars. Anything less is theft!

http://www.ratemyteachers.com/sycamore-high-school/14980-s

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