'It's time to heal'

More stories about Perkins SchoolsPERKINS TWP — Needing to keep finances under control, Perkins Schools officials laid out and approved their reduction plan for the upcoming school year. The items reduced/cut: • 35 district personnel positions • Shuttle services • the early drop-off program • Numerous assistant coaching positions totaling to about one per sport.• Building access hours during the week and weekendsThe $1 million in reductions, known as Plan B by district officials, comes as local residents defeated the district's 7.9 mill levy last November. Personnel cuts will take effect June 30, 2017, according to the meeting's agenda.Since being placed in fiscal caution for deficit spending last July, school officials had to present two financial plans to state officials for levy passage and levy failure to the Ohio Department of Education in August.During the two hour meeting Wednesday night, superintendent Jodie Hausmann explained what the district will keep by putting Plan B into place and what could happen if Perkins Schools continued its deficit spending.With Plan B, many services and activities will be protected: career technical courses, STEM education courses, all district extracurricular activities and athletics and bus transportation for all students over a mile, including all Meadowlawn students, among other things are included.In Plan C, or fiscal emergency status, would result from continued deficit spending the district. In Hausmann's presentation, fiscal emergency would either cause the district to greatly reduce or eliminate many positions and services in all buildings because they're not required. "(State officials have said that) many times, a district goes from (fiscal) caution to (fiscal) emergency — there's no (fiscal) watch in between," Hausmann said.If the 6.9 mill May levy does pass, 50 percent of revenue will come in next January, officials said. However, state funding will decrease for the district in new state budget. The May levy will be the district's twelfth attempt to gain new money in 17 years.But the reductions will still take effect."No levy passage will change these reductions," Hausmann said.Hausmann admitted that deciding which positions and services to eliminate was difficult, but it needed to be done."We're responding to what the community wants us to do," Hausmann said. "I've shared with many that I didn't became an educational leader to dismantle a school district and I have no desire to see further reductions and neither does the board.Officials pointed out surprising statistics about Perkins Schools. For instance, the district is one of the 10 percent wealthiest districts in Ohio, but is one of the lowest locally funded — it ranks 432 out of 608 school districts.Ohio school districts in fiscal emergency — less than one percent — are typically high poverty rural or urban districts."We're not the norm. The state model comes from local support," Hausmann said.According to Hausmann, 83 percent of the district's funding comes from local tax efforts, not from the state."This is not a time to be a bystander. I encourage each of you to become informed and engaged in your community's future. We must be the change we want to see. To the Perkins community, I saw this a lot — this is our finest hour. It is not when times are easy that a community's identify is defined, but it's when the community faces challenges."Let's redefine our future. It's time to heal, it's time to move forward. Let's keep our quality schools. Let's maintain our property values. Let's develop future economic opportunities and jobs for our future. Let's accept the responsibility of caring for our children's future, because we are Perkins," Hausmann said.A new hope?After hearing the district's current reduction and potential fiscal emergency plans, the mood of the meeting seemed to shift some from despair to hope.One by one in roughly 30 minutes of public participation, several residents stood up to voice their support for Perkins Schools, while others shared their concerns for its future."I love Perkins and have kids in school system. I'm not a quitter. We can win this levy, but we have to get out there and educate the people saying no — we got to sell it, we got get out there. We can do this," one resident said."We can't tear this school system apart anymore. Let's stop these cuts so we don't have to go to Plan C," said another."There's big trust issue here. Do what you're say you're going to do to restore trust in this community," one resident reminded school administrators.Board members said telling residents about the possible transfer of property to Sandusky Schools right now isn't a good idea."I don't think it's viable option to make that threat; I'm on this board to preserve this district," Carroll said. "The public would see it as a scare tactic. We don't know if we're going to follow through with it." Board members were surprised by the surge in district support."In my 5.5 years on the board, this is the most positive conversation that I've witnessed and I'm proud to see it," Carroll said.Hausmann's presentation is available on the district's website. Look for an upcoming story on the district's building capacity study in a future issue. Reach reporter Caitlin Nearhood at nearhood@sanduskyregister.com, follow her on Twitter @CaitlinNearhood and on Facebook www.facebook.com/CaitliNearhoodPerkins board members hold a meeting in the cafeteria at Perkins High School on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017.Watch the video of the full board meeting below. [toutembed=efe4r9]Community members sit at a Perkins board meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017, at Perkins High School.Community members fill the cafeteria at Perkins High School for a board meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017.Perkins superintendent Jodie Hausmann gives a presentation about potential school cuts during a board meeting in the cafeteria of Perkins High School on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017.