Much of the discussion at Cardinal Schools Board of Education meeting Monday revolved around a number of unknowns regarding a proposed transfer of territory that would combine Cardinal with Ledgemont Schools.
Board members seemed torn between wanting to help Ledgemont and needing to ensure their own district’s solid fiscal future.
The Cardinal meeting, attended by about 50 residents, started with a presentation of the district’s five-year forecast by Treasurer Merry Lou Knuckles.
According to her best reckoning, she said current figures show the district will be in a deficit situation in 2018 and in the red for more than $1 million in 2019 without passage of a levy yielding new money.
“That’s a concern,” she said.
Historically, the five-year forecast is subject to the whims of the state and nature, Knuckles said, adding it is used primarily as a planning tool for the board and administration.
“If we have a disaster tomorrow, my forecast is no good,” she said.
Her forecast led the discussion about the possible combining of the two school districts, partly because the board is obliged to submit it to the state in October.
But she expressed some frustration that, without access to Ledgemont’s five-year forecast, she could not paint a realistic picture of how a territory transfer would affect Cardinal fiscally.
The forecast shows Cardinal holding the line between now and 2018, but it is a thin line. If all goes according to plan, the district will end the 2014-2015 school year with a balance of about $156,000 on a budget of about $13 million, Knuckles said.
“Our budget is very tight,” she said. “State funding is a huge unknown. Every time we get a new governor, we get new funding programs.”
In the absence of figures from Ledgemont, which is continuing to operate in a state of fiscal emergency with several million dollars from the state solvency assistance fund, Knuckles said a combined budget was impossible.
“We are having discussions with Ledgemont on the transfer of territory, but I have no figures from them,” she said. “It’s a great big ‘I-don’t-know.’”
Cardinal Superintendent Scott Hunt was more willing to estimate what a combined budget would look like, figuring annual tax income from Ledgemont would be about $3 million.
If Ledgemont merges with a neighboring school district by June 30, 2015, under Ohio House Bill 487 passed this year, the state will forgive the district the $2.8 million it was going to have to pay back.
A transfer of territory will result in Ledgemont Schools and its board ceasing to exist, although Hunt said the plan is for the lower grades to continue to attend the elementary school in Thompson for the foreseeable future.
Despite a comment made in a recent joint meeting between the boards, students now in the elementary grades at Cardinal will remain there, Hunt said.
If the districts combine, the Cardinal budget will likely increase to about $16.27 million a year, he said.
“We know there will be additional cost in salaries, benefits, operations and services” if Ledgemont Elementary School remains open and the upper grades are absorbed into Cardinal, Hunt said.
“It’s not my belief it’s going to cost $3 million to do this,” he said. “It helps our budget and we get to help another community and their students.”
Ledgemont Schools Board of Education met Monday and received its five-year forecast as well, so the figures should be available to Cardinal soon, he said.
Ledgemont has fewer than 400 students and Cardinal has 1,159. Hunt’s presentation showed students and teachers dovetailing in the revamped district with minimal problems.
“I see very little to no impact on teachers,” he said, adding the high school has enough capacity for the additional students.
The middle school may require some adjustments, Hunt said, but he believes crowded classrooms can be avoided.
“When we do the staffing here, we have to do it by the numbers,” he said.
With a larger student body, the opportunity for additional class offerings would be a benefit, Hunt said.
He noted he has met with Ledgemont Superintendent Julie Ramos to explore possibilities and they have met with Matt Galemmo, the Geauga County Educational Service Center superintendent.
The process agreed on is for the boards to vote to ask the ESC to initiate the transfer of territory, Hunt said.
Under the Ohio Revised Code, the ESC board could initiate the transfer without the districts’ agreement, but the three superintendents agreed to go to the boards, he said.
Cardinal board member Katie Thomas questioned the process.
“Why are we voting if it doesn’t make a difference?” she asked, objecting to the ESC’s power to force a transfer. “I don’t like that hanging over our head.”
“It’s just lip service,” said board member Nancy Ferguson, but Hunt denied that would happen.
“If you vote ‘no,’ we’re out,” he said. “We can vote not to accept the transfer of territory.”
Thomas said the Cardinal board should vote before the Ledgemont board because Cardinal board’s decision might affect the Ledgemont board’s vote.
“We have an opportunity I don’t think we should squander,” Hunt said, adding the financial picture is important.
If that seems positive when the Ledgemont forecast becomes available, there is only the matter of helping a neighbor.
“I’m an educator. I don’t care where the kids are. It’s an opportunity to reach out,” he said.
Ledgemont wanted to wait until after the Nov. 4 elections on the chance its levy will pass, Hunt said. After that, the board can take action.
“I will have a recommendation to our board, maybe the day after election day,” he said.