Dear Community Members, Employees and Families,
Tonight at a Board of Education special meeting, District Treasurer Randy Drewyor and I presented to the Board an overview of the planned reductions that would be deemed necessary in the event that, on November 5
th, voters reject the Board of Education’s request to replace the expiring 9.75 mill incremental operating levy. These reductions include cuts to programming, student services, and 60 staff positions that would be made before the start of the 2025-2026 school year. A detailed listing may be found at
https://tinyurl.com/PburgLevyFall2024. Here is a link to the video of tonight’s meeting:
In summary, the anticipated impact on our school district would include:
• Increased class sizes
• Reduction of Clubs and Activities K-12
• No gifted education services (625 students received services last year)
• Reduced ability to help students with mental health needs
• Reduction of performing arts staff, resulting in doubling class sizes and reduction of concerts and performances
• Higher caseloads for staff serving students on IEPs
• No freshman sports
• No field trips
• Fewer staff members available to support students – from laptop repairs to 504 meetings to monitors
• Reduced responsiveness to families and community
• Reduction in mailed communications to the community
• PHS walk area increased to 2 miles
The purpose of presenting this contingency plan if the levy were to fail is twofold. First, the levy currently collects approximately $13.5 million, or 17% of district’s annual revenue. In the event that the levy request fails, the school district would be required to operate with 17% less revenue beginning on January 1, 2025.
Even if a subsequent levy were to pass at some point during the 2025 calendar year, the earliest the district could begin to collect on a new levy would be January 1, 2026. The end result would be operating for one calendar year with $13.5 million less. Like a family or a business that must deal with a loss of revenue, the school district must have a contingency plan in place to address a loss in available resources.
Secondly, the community has asked what will happen if the levy fails to be approved by the voters. Please note that this is an operational levy, not a bond issue for construction of a new school or renovations to an existing school. Operational levies must be used for day-to-day operating expenses, such as salaries, benefits, utilities, and textbooks.
This overview provides residents with information about what services, programs and staffing may be impacted if voters reject the levy request. It is vital that voters know what is at stake so they can make an informed decision at the polls on November 5th.
The reduction plan, if the levy were to fail, cuts an estimated $6,004,675.90 from the budget, uses $7,495,324.10 of the school district’s reserves, and eliminates 60 positions as well as numerous programs.
Since 2019, Perrysburg Schools has averaged a 3.4% increase in spending per year despite seeing an increase of 4.5% new students since that time (approximately 253). Of the 17 school districts in Lucas and Wood Counties, Perrysburg ranks 14th in what it spends to educate a student. Our school district’s expenditure per pupil and pupil-administrator ratio are both below the state average. Despite this, we are proud to be ranked in the top 7% of school districts in Ohio for student performance.
Perrysburg Schools’ staff remains committed to serving the students, families and residents of Perrysburg with pride and enthusiasm.
Sincerely,
Thomas L. Hosler
Superintendent
Perrysburg Schools