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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2009 > July > 30
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Editorial: Sugarcreek needs school levy to pass
After more than a year of turmoil, voters in Bellbrook and Sugarcreek Twp. can on Tuesday put their schools back on solid financial footing.
A “yes” vote makes good sense.
The 5.5-mill replacement levy won’t restore any of the $3.2 million in painful cuts the district has already made. But it would prevent even more cuts that would reduce bus service and dramatically raise the cost to participate in sports.
The levy would go into effect at the same time a tax for school construction bonds will drop, reducing the sting of the new tax. If the levy passes, property taxes will go up about $89 annually per $100,000 of property value.
If approved, the levy would eliminate a deficit the district faces at the end of the next school year. If it’s defeated, the school board is ready to place a similar issue on the November ballot.
The district’s slide onto financial thin ice was helped along by a combination of bad bets and bad luck. After cutting it close and barely breaking even for several years, school leaders hoped to resolve financial problems by getting an earned income tax levy passed in November 2008.
Even though most of the other districts in Greene County have approved some sort of income tax, Sugarcreek voters defeated that idea soundly. At the same time, the national economy collapsed. Meanwhile, growth of new revenue from home construction stalled, catching school officials off guard and putting a severe squeeze on the budget at the close of last school year.
The deficit might have been avoided if school officials had acted sooner to make cuts once it was clear the economy was tanking. But either way, the confluence of events meant the district would need deep cuts and new money for the upcoming school year. School officials, to their credit, have made hard cuts. More cuts would threaten the quality of instruction that has helped raise the district’s state report card rating to “excellent” for four consecutive years.
The district still faces a couple of fiscal curve balls.
It doesn’t yet know how much new state mandates from Gov. Ted Strickland’s school reform will cost. Requirements for all-day kindergarten and smaller class sizes will raise costs for all local districts. At the same time, the Ohio Department of Education is projecting a slight decrease in state aid for Sugarcreek.
School officials also still are awaiting a “performance audit” from the state that will recommend cuts and changes to make the district more efficient.
No matter how those issues turn out, Sugarcreek expects it will have to do even more with less. A levy defeat would only make things tougher.
The question voters face is: What kind of school district do they want? Maintaining Sugarcreek’s reputation as a top district will require voters to say yes to a levy. The other option is to accept the likelihood that the run of top state ratings will come to an end.
School leaders accept that they must spend less. The cuts they’ve made have been significant and strategic. If voters approve the new money, the continuing levy should take the schools out of crisis mode and let everyone get back to focusing on what’s happening in classrooms.
Nobody wants taxes to go up. But this levy is needed.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment | Categories: Editorials, Education, Suburban Communities
Editorial: Governor misses flight connection
Gov. Ted Strickland didn’t make it to Dayton’s air show or the trade expo this month. He was scheduled to speak at the trade exposition, but finalizing the state budget took over his life.
OK, fine. But he isn’t off the hook for failing to give the aerospace industry in Dayton — and across Ohio — the attention that he promised more than a year ago.
People at Ohio aerospace companies, defense contractors, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the NASA Glenn Research Center near Cleveland, and universities that are involved in aviation and space-related research have long believed that state government doesn’t understand their economic muscle.
In response to that problem, these groups cooked up an Aerospace Day in May 2008, and took their case to Columbus, touting statistics about their impact. In response, the governor committed to creating an 11-member Ohio Aerospace Advisory Council.
The goal was to give the industry a higher profile and to familiarize politicians and bureaucrats with aerospace’s place in Ohio.
Aviation’s reach across Ohio is sweeping. But much of the work — because no one is turning out completed planes — flies under most people’s radar.
Of course, Daytonians know about Wright-Patterson’s presence (it’s the largest single-site employer in the state).
But did you know:
— Ohio is the No. 1 supplier to Airbus.
— Boeing has almost 600 suppliers in Ohio, making the state the company’s second-largest supplier.
— Hartzell Propeller, of Piqua, is the world’s leading manufacturer of propeller systems.
— Columbus will be home to FlightSafety, the world’s largest flight simulator training facility.
— GE Aviation is the world’s largest commercial jet engine company and it’s in Evendale.
(All these stats and information are courtesy of the Ohio Aerospace Institute.)
As interested as Dayton is in promoting aviation and making sure the region is known for having a critical mass of businesses focused on aerospace, it’s a mistake to think this campaign is just Dayton’s cause.
Cleveland is wildly protective and possessive of NASA Glenn because of the research money it draws and the spin-off jobs it creates.
Meanwhile, in southern Ohio, the University of Cincinnati has the nation’s second aeronautical engineering department.
And not long ago, Columbus fell over itself to make sure that NetJets, which has the largest private jet fleet and which conceived the concept of fractional jet ownership, didn’t leave there.
A commission won’t guarantee that aviation and aerospace will expand in Ohio. But if it has passionate, knowledgeable people promoting the industry, that could help leverage the state’s rich connections and create new jobs. The high-paying and high-tech work that dominates the industry can propel Ohio forward.
Now that the state budget war is over, maybe the governor can get back to fulfilling an easy and cost-free promise that he made 14 months ago.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Economy, Editorials, Ellen Belcher, Higher Ed, Ohio government, Ohio politics, Wright Patterson Air Force Base
Editorial: Xenia levy renewal crucial
Xenia is facing a financial squeeze. If, on Tuesday, voters don’t renew a 3.5-mill levy, a bad situation will become dire. A “yes” vote would not raise taxes.
With the economy’s steep decline during the past year, revenue in Xenia is way off. Unemployment is higher than the state average, and income tax collections are down more than 6 percent. State aid is expected to decline by as much as 15 percent. Though spending for the coming year has been reduced by 1 percent over last year, a deficit looms.
Unless major cuts are made, city officials estimate the deficit will be $1.45 million by next June even if the renewal — which brings in about $410,000 a year — passes. If it fails, the deficit could approach $2 million for a city with a $17 million annual budget.
Renewing this levy is the first step in Xenia’s plan to stabilize its financial ship. Other proposals being considered: eliminating six police officers, six firefighters and taking out of service periodically the fire station that serves the western half of the city.
City Manager Jim Percival hopes it won’t come to that. He said he is meeting with labor unions and employee groups seeking pay cuts or other concessions that would avoid layoffs and help maintain services.
Passing this levy won’t keep those cuts from happening. Moreover, Mr. Percival expects a levy for new money will be on the ballot next spring.
Renewing the levy will make sure Xenia’s finances don’t collapse. The harder choices — deeper cuts, future tax increases — are yet to come. This one is easy.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: Editorials, Elections, Suburban Communities
