“Tonight’s election results are extremely disappointing for our students, faculty, staff, and community,” said Little Miami Superintendent Dan Bennett.
The defeat means the district will likely return to the ballot later this year with a similar proposal, though the proposed cost to homeowners could increase. The district is projected to be operating at state minimum standards next school year, and there’s no room for further cuts to staffing or services, school officials have said. School board member Bobbie Grice reflected sadly on the results, expressing uncertainty about the future.
“We don’t know what the next steps are going to be,” she said. “We have to sit back and see what the state says.”
More than 100 positions have been cut from the payroll, mostly classroom teachers, including 15 who were recently laid off and will not return next year. The district will have closed its third elementary building next year in an effort to cut costs. The key factor in the district’s return to solvency is getting new revenue approved by voters, according to the state oversight commission’s financial recovery plan.
“There is no way to close this gap between revenues and expenditures without generating additional revenue and/or reducing expenditures,” the plan states. The lack of support for the schools operations has many parents worried, like Yvette Smith, whose young daughter will soon be attending Little Miami schools.
“We’ll either pay in a tax or pay for outside tutoring. Either way it’s an out-of-pocket expense,” she said. “Education is important. When you have 30 kids in a class, it’s hard to get that education.”
As they approach retirement with trepidation, voters Jeff and Debbie Nelson of Hamilton Twp., say they voted against the levy because of the shaky economy. They question the value of the education being provided in public schools.
“I’m really tired of them taking money out of my pocket,” Jeff Nelson said. “They’re not teaching the things that they need to. They’ve gotten away from the Christian lifestyle that this country is based on.”