No levy request in May for Fairfield

School board doesn’t want to go to voters until Kasich announces anticipated state cuts.

FAIRFIELD — Voters will not be asked to support an operating levy for Fairfield City Schools on the May ballot, but it’s not out of the question for November, the Board of Education decided during its Thursday retreat.

The district is facing almost certain cutbacks from the state, as Gov. John Kasich has promised to balance the budget without raising taxes. But until Kasich presents his budget in mid-March, districts are in the dark about how extreme those cuts will be.

“I think anything regarding (generating) revenue prior to that would be very premature, and if we were successful, we might have been wrong in guessing what that cut would be,” said board President Jerome Kearns.

Without knowing what the state budget will look like, the district wants to avoid asking voters for too little or too much with a May levy proposal.

“Any decision to look at generating revenue would be throwing a dart at a dartboard,” Kearns said.

The board also looked at budget reductions, including cutting staff, limiting the number of student activities and adjusting bus stops. However, if the district were to implement such budget cuts and see a 10 percent cut in state funding, it still would be facing a cash budget shortfall by June 30, 2013.

“They (district employees) would appreciate the opportunity to let the community vote on what do you value and what do you see in the future of Fairfield,” said Business Director Chad Lewis, referring to meetings with bargaining teams of union workers.

“They may not want to know the answer,” responded Kearns, as recent levy proposals for area districts have failed multiple times, as happened in Lakota and Mason school districts in November.

The board will further discuss cost reductions, but that alone won’t resolve the budget situation.

“We’re not going to cut our way out of this,” Lewis said.

Contact this reporter at (513) 483-5237 or kcano@coxohio.com.

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