Middletown school board president: Focus on future not past

The leader of Middletown’s school board says don’t focus at where the district has been at the expense of seeing where it’s going.

Middletown Schools are about to launch major and historic initiatives, including next week’s ground breaking for a new school, public outreach for a new strategic plan, bolstered school security and refinancing of district bonds that could save taxpayers $1 million.

The aggressive plans were delivered this week by first-year Middletown Board of Education President Chris Urso during the city's "state of the city" event.

“The center of a community is its schools, and it is our schools that can lead the way to a more optimistic Middletown,” said Urso, who was invited by Middletown Mayor Larry Mulligan Jr. to speak at Tuesday’s event.

Middletown Schools have been buffeted in recent months with the latest rounds of low scores on the state's annual report card and a state audit earlier this month that criticized a handful of the school district's finance procedures but found no missing money.

But Urso, who is one of four recently elected members of the five-person school board, said residents of the Butler County city have much to be optimistic about but they also share in creating a better future for their public schools.

“We are fighting against a history of people being pessimistic, but I’m really optimistic as along as the community is involved,” Urso said Wednesday.

A major key will be a new strategic plan to be developed after a public outreach campaign starting in April - dates have yet to be scheduled - with a series of opinion-gathering meetings, he said.

“You have to have the community buy in. We want to find out what people are thinking (about the schools) and gauge the community,” said Urso.

On Monday, Urso and other school officials will join local business and community leaders at a ground-breaking ceremony for the district’s new middle school and extensive renovation of Middletown High School.

The school construction stems from residents in 2014 barely approving a tax increase of $95 million for the projects.

Urso said the recent state audit aside, in which most of the district’s procedural mistakes have already been corrected, Middletown Schools’ “general fund revenues have exceeded expenditures for each of the last two years and are expected to do the same this current year and upcoming years as well.”

“Currently, we are exploring an opportunity to refinance the district’s 2007 construction bonds that will substantially save our taxpayers future interest costs for these refinanced bonds,” he said, adding the district could save $1 million or more “if the markets continue to work in our favor.”

The district’s annual operating budget is $85 million.

Middletown Superintendent Sam Ison said, “This is an exciting time for the schools.”

“We are in the beginning stages of the renovation and construction of our last two educational facilities. This means, that by the fall of 2018, all 10 of our district buildings will be new, or newly renovated within a span of 12 years, from 2006 to 2018.

“With the new buildings,” said Ison, “I believe our district is standing on the precipice of hope.”

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