School district cuts teachers

Editor's note: Joseph Jones is a Register correspondent representing vermiliondaily.com. VERMILION — In a unanimous vote, Vermilion Schools' education board approved staffing cuts going into effect for the 2026-27 school year. Most notably, this included eliminating six teacher positions. Monday's public meeting carried a somber feeling throughout the 75-minute session, marked by careful explanation, visible emotion and repeated acknowledgment of personal impact involved. After the vote, several attendees were seen sitting with teachers — whose positions are slated to be cut — comforting them. Multiple people in the room were visibly emotional, and tears were shed by several individuals following the vote. Vermilion superintendent Wes Weaver: • Called this action "the least desirable task" that district leaders are called upon to do • Emphasized that the recommendations presented were the result of "collaborative work of our administrators over weeks and months of time" District officials alluded to taking this action on Friday, posting the notice for Monday's special meeting. The four board members agreeing with this decision: Mark Benson, Krystal Russell, Sara Stepp and Jill Treece. Shelly Innes didn't attend the meeting. Why did cuts happen now? During the meeting, administrators and board members took time to explain the district's bleak financial situation in detail. They also underscored the difficulty of their decision. Weaver told the board the district is now deficit spending, a situation in which spending outweighs income received. He also cited other financial problems, including "last year's failure of the bond issue" along with "rising costs of just about everything that we pay for here in the district." Weaver said the district is withdrawing money from its everyday operating budget, also called the general fund, to address facility-related emergencies. It's also spending from its surplus, also known as a savings account. Entering this year, the general fund totaled $26 million but could dramatically drop entering the next school year. He described the reductions as part of a broader cost-reduction effort. These latest employment-related cuts add to a dwindling district staff in recent years through methods of attrition. This is the gradual reduction of a company's workforce as employees leave through resignation or retirement without being immediately replaced. Cutting teachers, however, represents a more drastic action taken and one that hasn't occurred at Vermilion Schools in recent memory — if ever at all. Approving the cuts now, meanwhile, likely gives those affected enough time to find employment elsewhere. Entering Monday's meeting, Vermilion Schools employed 125 teachers, 108 classified staff and 13 administrators for a total of 246 district positions. It's held steady from 2025, 248 employees, and 2024, 255 employees. Enrollment also on the decline Weaver also cited declining enrollment, which he said has dropped by about 30% since around 2015. More people living in the district and attending schools equate to more property taxes, the primary funding source for public education institutions. Declining enrollment isn't just a Vermilion issue, Weaver said. It's happening all across Ohio, and it's not getting any better locally based on the counts of younger classes in Vermilion. Future financial forecast During his presentation, Weaver described a multi-year pattern in which district expenditures have exceeded revenues. He highlighted projections showing the gap widening in the coming years if no corrective action is taken, referencing forecasts that show revenues and expenditures separating by roughly $500,000 next school year and growing further apart in later years. He also referenced the district's five-year forecast, which school treasurer Justin Klingshirn presents twice annually as required by the state. Weaver also addressed concerns about cutting staff and said personnel costs represent an "overwhelming percentage" of the district's budget, limiting how much can be addressed through reductions to supplies or services alone. He cited rising costs in multiple areas, including health care benefits, utilities, food, purchased services, maintenance and curriculum. Who's getting cut? The meeting agenda listed the following certified and classified staff positions as part of the reduction-in-force recommendation for the 2026–27 school year. The list includes six teaching positions and one custodial position: • David Funk — Vermilion High School, career tech • Gehrig Gabrie — Vermilion High School health and physical education • Laura Heil — Sailorway Middle School reading specialist • Rachel Kidd — Vermilion High School, visual arts • Lauren O'Hare — Vermilion Elementary School reading specialist • Grace Robinson — Vermilion High School, instrumental music • Hope Shuster-Calhoun — Vermilion High School, custodian Administrators chose these people to lay off based on what they believe would be the "least academically impactful" on students and the district as a whole. Speaking after the vote, board member Krystal Russell said the cuts hit home because one of the affected educators, Gabrie, is her daughter's gym teacher from last year and her basketball coach. "This is hard," Russell said. Speaking up Several members of the public spoke during the meeting, focusing not on budget figures but on the role individual educators and staff members have played in their children's lives. Parents described how specific teachers and support staff helped students succeed academically, supported children with special needs and created safe, encouraging environments for learning and growth. Some speakers emphasized the importance of music, reading intervention and career-focused instruction. Others, meanwhile, spoke more broadly about relationships formed between students and educators and the lasting impact those relationships have had on their families. Speakers repeatedly acknowledged the financial challenges facing the district while urging decision-makers and the broader community to remember the human side of the reductions and the day-to-day work educators do with students. During the public participation portion, district parent and area resident Kitty Schwanitz, who has two kids enrolled at Vermilion, talked about how teachers and support staff have positively impacted her family. "I have two children who are currently in (Vermilion High School): one of them uses a specialist. They are integral to her experience," Schwanitz said. "My son also enjoys robotics, and that is because of the teachers. I support them, and I hate that there's any reduction." Board members and administrators spoke deliberately and acknowledged the emotional weight of the decision. Weaver said the reductions would be sufficient "for now" if the November renewal levy gets approved. He said the levy "will be called a fixed-sum levy," and stated that a yes vote would "lower your property tax bills slightly," while keeping the district at the level of funding it has had for several years.