Genoa schools: Voters to decide emergency levy

Volunteers in the Genoa Local School District plan to go door-to-door this week with flyers in support of an operating levy request on the May 3 ballot.
And parents of students are being invited to the district’s elementary building on May 2 from 3:30-6 p.m. where elements of the curriculum – art, music, physical education, library technology - will be showcased.
“We are asking the parents to come in and see our ‘essentials’ classes. Some people call them specials but we call them essentials. We want parents to see all of the kids’ work and progress,” said Holly Kimpon, a high school teacher who is chairing the levy committee.
Last week, the district hosted a public/virtual forum at the high school auditorium to field questions about the request for an additional $1.3 million annually for five years – equal approximately to 6 mills. Because the levy is an emergency issue, the millage could fluctuate to keep the revenue it collects constant.
This levy will be the fourth request for additional millage by the district since November 2020. Voters also rejected levies in May 2021 and November 2021.
A levy failure this time will result in cuts to staff, including a kindergarten teacher, third grade teacher, elementary technology teacher, elementary physical education teacher, music teacher, middle school English teacher, college/career readiness coordinator, a high school teacher, study hall monitor, three bus drivers, athletic department secretary, and the district librarian/media specialist.
Mike Ferguson, superintendent, who’s also assumed the responsibilities of the high school principal position to save money, said the kindergarten teaching position may be spared depending on enrollment figures for the incoming class.
In addition, bus routes may be eliminated so that only students in kindergarten through the eighth grade who live outside of two miles from their schools will be transported.
Cutting one section of the pre-kindergarten program and increasing student/participation fees are also on the table if the levy fails, Ferguson said.
The district receives about 52 percent of its operating revenue from the state. And while other school districts in the area have benefited from industrial development, the Genoa district isn’t home to a large company to pay a share of the property taxes, levy supporters are stressing in their promotional material.
Meanwhile costs are rising but state revenues aren’t keeping pace. The costs for mandated special education services last year were $700,000 more than in 2015.
Consequently, the district has slipped into deficit spending – about $250,000 more in expenditures last year than revenues – and will likely do so again this year, said Bill Nye, district treasurer.
Administrators, teachers, and the classified staff agreed to a wage freeze in 2021, saving an estimated $140,000, and other cost-saving measures have been adopted.
Per-student spending at Genoa schools ranks ninth compared to eight other comparable districts in Ottawa, Wood and Sandusky counties, according to data from the Ohio Department of Education.
Voters in the district will also decide a 0.5-mill, 5-year replacement levy that is used to purchase Chromebooks for students’ use and other equipment. It generates about $90,000 a year and was first approved by voters in 2017.