Ledgemont Schools Board of Education decided to give voters one more chance to support the financially beleaguered district before pursuing a potential consolidation with Cardinal Schools.
Over the recommendation of Superintendent Julie Ramos, board members agreed Monday to delay any action on moving forward with a territory transfer until after the Nov. 4 general election.
“I would prefer not to make a resolution until after the voters have had a chance to vote,” board member Rick Loveland said, rejecting a call for a special meeting early next week to decide on consolidation.
“If we do the resolution, it’s going to send the message that it’s a done deal,” he added. “I don’t think that that’s fair to the voters.”
Loveland added, “If we pass (a resolution), we’re telling the community that we give up.”
But board President Cathleen Hadley-Samia and member Carol Geisman both said they have heard from longtime Ledgemont supporters who intend to vote no on the district’s 4.49-mill additional tax levy and against renewing an expiring 1.25 percent earned income tax.
“The time has come,” Hadley-Samia said. “I think we need to do this (territory transfer) and I don’t think the levy is going to pass, because … people who have voted yes are now going to vote no because they think we need to consolidate.”
Geisman said she has not heard from one resident opposed to consolidation.
“Every email and phone call I have gotten has said that they thought the transfer was a good idea,” she said.
Several residents also stated they were “yes” voters in the past, added Geisman, “but now they feel obligated to vote no to get across the point that they want the transfer to happen.”
Resident Robin Stanley, however, said she has gone door to door and the response she has received from residents is they do not want to lose their school.
“There may be people that are upset,” Stanley explained, “but the people that I talked to, they realize how critical these levies are on the ballot and that they want to vote to keep the school.”
She urged board members to adopt a wait-and-see approach, because otherwise the board is “shooting both levies in the foot” and putting the students “in this turmoil all the time.”
Another resident said he visited with 60-70 residents, including senior citizens, and heard just one negative response.
“Are we going to set up another meeting or not?” asked Hadley-Samia.
“My opinion not until the election,” Loveland said.
The other board members reluctantly agreed to schedule a board meeting for 7 p.m. Nov. 5 — the day after the general election.
They did so even after learning the Geauga County Budget Commission last Thursday rescinded an earlier decision to allow the district to transfer inside millage to a special debt retirement fund that would have been used to repay more than $2 million in state solvency assistance.
“That means that our millage move won’t be taking place … in January, which makes the November levy more critical that we pass,” Treasurer Belinda Grassi said. “Whether we have a territory transfer or not, we still need additional millage in order to operate for the rest of the school year.”
Grassi also said the budget commission’s decision has put a “damper” on where the district thought its spending levels would be for the current year.
“With the five-year forecast coming due at the end of the month, that puts my work on a very tight timeline … and I’ll be starting over from scratch tomorrow,” she said. “Their decision was extremely disappointing to me.”
Ramos’ Recommendation
Ramos gave board members an 18-page handout that provided, among other things, a history of discussions with Cardinal Schools about a possible territory transfer.
Those conversations began on Sept. 16, 2013, with each district’s respective board members and superintendents meeting in early October of 2013.
Discussions continued in November 2013 and January and February 2014, and moved ahead with the passage of House Bill 487 in June.
A section of that bill, Section 7, would allow Ledgemont to voluntarily transfer its territory to Cardinal — and Cardinal to acquire that territory — free and clear of any indebtedness owed to the state solvency assistance fund.
“I just wanted to reiterate the fact that these discussions have been taking place for some time now,” Ramos said, responding to past criticism from some people who felt “blindsided” by those discussions.
With Ledgemont’s dwindling enrollment — 396 students currently attend Ledgemont Schools — and its high debt, the superintendent outlined the benefits of seeking a territory transfer. Those benefits include college and career readiness; expanded programming; additional technology opportunities and devices; additional space; additional course offerings; and fine arts and foreign language.
Ramos also explained the current Ledgemont Schools building on Burrows Road would remain a K-6 building and potentially a K-8 building.
“We did talk about the seventh- and eighth-graders being transported over to the Cardinal grounds due to the fact of athletics and extracurriculars,” she added. “However, if that’s not something students are interested in, there is a potential of having them housed here.”
Also included in the documentation Ramos provided was a list of the programming available at Ledgemont and currently available to Cardinal along with the future programming opportunities.
Based on her staffing report, Ramos further noted a territory transfer would result in “minimal job loss.”
The superintendent then laid out the timeline for moving forward with a voluntary territory transfer.
“There is a tight timeline and that is because, in order to meet the deadline for debt forgiveness, this would need to take place before June 30, 2015,” Ramos said. “So that doesn’t give us a lot of time.”
She recommended the board move forward with consolidation no later than Oct. 21, whether members pass a resolution at a special board meeting or simply write a letter requesting the Geauga County Educational Service Center (ECS) proceed with the transfer based on board action.
Loveland noted nowhere in the statute or timeline is it required the Ledgemont or Cardinal school boards pass a resolution.
While Ramos acknowledged Loveland was correct, she said ESC Superintendent Matt Galemmo values the community’s and board’s opinions, and respects the idea of local control.
“It’s actually out of a courtesy,” said Ramos. “If the board chooses not to do this, that’s your right and your decision.”
The superintendent also explained that even if Ledgemont and Cardinal were to combine, the district would have approximately 1,600 students, which is still smaller than some of the other districts in the county.
“I know in the past the board has been concerned about consolidating or merging with bigger districts,” the superintendent said, noting Cardinal has only 1,200 students. “So, again, with our 400 (students), that’s still a reasonable size district.”
She also added there is a “perfect storm” with new high school graduation requirements, beginning with the class of 2018, and district officials needed to ensure students are college or career ready.
“Therefore, again, as the superintendent of Ledgemont local schools, I am making the recommendation and I’m hoping that this board will make a decision to move forward with either passing a resolution or writing a letter in support of the territory transfer,” Ramos said.
Loveland asked if Ledgemont were to pass a resolution of support and Cardinal didn’t, whether the ESC could override that decision.
“I think if Cardinal does not want to move forward with this, I don’t think that that will be forced,” Ramos answered, surmising Galemmo and the ESC would only want to proceed in “the most collaborative fashion.”