Dayton Daily News education reporter Scott Elliott writes about schools, kids, teaching and learning.
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Monday, June 2, 2008
Renting out Ludlow II part of district savings plan
Mack and Lucas
In response to a consultant’s study of the city school district’s business and education operations, Superintendent Percy Mack launched a plan Monday to make money-saving changes.
The study was commissioned by a committee of business and community leaders seeking to help the district reduce costs so it can ask for a smaller levy this November than the 15.17-mill levy that was defeated in 2007.
Mack said the district must recognize that the local economy is troubled.
“People don’t have discretionary money,” he said. “Even if they wanted to, they don’t have discretionary money to give. We have to work hard to get the levy down as low as possible.”
Among the cost-saving measures targeted in Mack’s plan was leasing out one of two downtown office buildings the district purchased from Reynolds and Reynolds in 2003 for $15.5 million and consolidating administrative offices in the other building.
Treasurer Stan Lucas said circumstances have changed since the 2003 purchase, including last year’s $30 million cuts and more than 400 layoffs in the wake of the levy defeat. But he still believes buying the Reynolds buildings was the right move.
“At the time, we made the best decision for the district,” he said. “We didn’t know in 2003 there would be such a cut back. It was the right thing to do then and this is the right thing to do now — try to maximize the use of the facilities.”
Mack’s plan also includes:
—Busing. To ride a school bus, students currently must live at least 1.5 miles from school. That perimeter will be extended to 2 miles. A new committee will review transportation operations to identify other cost savings.
—Nutrition. A consultant will review nutrition operations in search of savings.
—Facilities. The district will conduct a review of warehouse space and a committee from business operations, human resources and the legal department will have recommendations by month’s end on union contract changes that could bring savings.
—Budget. A new financial oversight committee will include the treasurer, assistant treasurer, chief operating officer, chief academic officer, audit committee members, the executive director of human resources and business community volunteers.
—Education services. The Council of Great City Schools will send consultants for a comprehensive review of special education and early childhood programs. A new team will monitor teacher training and the district’s data staff will visit every school next year to help principals use data better. Also, the district will explore pay-for-performance plans.
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Researcher paints gloomy picture of Dayton’s economy
Stock and Breitenbach
A researcher painted a bleak economic outlook Monday for business and community leaders seeking to help Dayton schools plan for a November levy.
Richard Stock, director of the Business Research Group at the University of Dayton, said the city has seen declines — and in some cases dramatic drops — in employment, median income and real estate values in recent years.
Stock said the prospects for a recovery in the next three years are slim. And while the tax burden in Dayton is lower when compared to nearby communities, it feels heavier to city residents who, on average, have much lower incomes.
“There are reasons why lower income people are concentrated in the city of Dayton,” he said. “There is a reason why, as a collective, they make decisions about the kinds of taxes they can afford.”
Stock gave his report to a committee that is reviewing the city school district’s operations to recommend changes that might bring cost savings with the goal of reducing the size of the November school levy.
Tom Breitenbach, president of Premier Health Partners and chair of the group, said he was still optimistic about the levy’s chances, despite Stock’s report on the economy. He pointed to recent successes in countywide levies for Human Services and Sinclair Community College, the resiliency of the school district and the community’s commitment to its schools.
“I think there is grounds for realistic optimism,” he said. “We shouldn’t view the statistics out of that wider context.”
Among the economic factors cited by Stock were:
—A steep decline in the employment index since 2000, in contrast to employment gains in Cincinnati, Ohio as a whole and nationally. The losses were driven by 33,000 job cuts in manufacturing over that period.
—Median income, adjusted for inflation, is 10.5 percent lower in Dayton today than in a decade ago and has fallen faster here than in any other major Ohio school district.
—The poverty rate for children age five to 17, which had improved strongly from 1995 to reach 24 percent in 2000, declined to 32.8 percent in 2005.
—The taxable value of real estate per student in Dayton, which grew steadily over the last decade, has now fallen to its lowest level in 20 years.
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