District disputes claims in anonymous letter

An anonymous letter being circulated in the New Richmond Exempted School District contains misinformation and distorts the position of the New Richmond Board of Education according to school superintendent Adam Bird.

The anonymous letter was placed on mailboxes in the district and contained complaints about salaries and benefits being paid to teachers and suggested that the New Richmond Board of Education is considering a tax levy.

“While it is true that our district is anticipating a financial shortfall, the five-year forecast that was presented at the last board meeting in April and is going be approved in May shows that there is not going to be a need for a levy for several years,” said Bird.

The only mention of a levy at a board meeting was in January in a report submitted by a financial planning committee that was tasked with developing a plan to offset the projected loss of $8.1 million per year beginning in 2017 when Ohio stops reimbursing the district for revenue lost when Ohio deregulated electrical utilities.

The committee suggested cutting future staffing levels through attrition and the possibility of placing a future capital improvement levy on the ballot.

“We’ve mentioned the word, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be happening anytime soon,” said Bird. “We have not had a levy in this school district since 1977 and we are at the 20-mill floor, the lowest millage allowed by law.”

NREVSD treasurer Teresa Napier said the district will remain in the black for fiscal year 2012 despite losing $1.2 million in state funding and $344,000 due to Duke Energy tax reductions.

Superintendent Bird has proposed savings of $1,269,000 for 2012 by not replacing retiring employees including 12 teachers, and other savings.

“The Board of Education continues to actively manage the financial situation of the district to ensure its financial solvency,” said Napier. “For fiscal 2012, the savings from reduction in staff and other general operating expenditures will offset the reduction in state and local revenues and enable the district to operate at a positive working capital position.”

The anonymous letter also accused the teachers union of “resisting any effort to increase their share of health benefits or retirement benefits” and wanting to raise district taxes “so they can get more of your hard earned money.”

The letter also complained about the salary scale, days worked (185 days per year) and paid sick days (15 days per year) that teachers receive.

“We are in the advanced stages of our negotiations with the teachers and they have tentatively agreed to pay more toward their health benefits,” said Bird. “As far as salaries go, they are not out of line with their education, experience and advanced degrees.”

Bird noted that the number of paid sick days for public employees is established by the Ohio Revised Code not by negotiations and that New Richmond teachers work more days than teachers in other Clermont County districts.

The next meeting of the New Richmond Board of Education will be at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 19 at the Market Street School Building. Items on the agenda include approval of the 5-year financial forecast, staffing levels and a change in start times for the 2011-12 school year.