Twinsburg schools to slash $2.9 million from budget, eliminate 36 jobs

The Twinsburg City School District will cut nearly $2.9 million from its roughly $50 million budget and eliminate 36 staff positions to keep in line with the Ohio Department of Education's fiscal expectations.

"This is the kind of work that none of us wants to do," Superintendent Kathryn Powers said at Wednesday's Twinsburg Board of Education meeting.

Most of the cuts will be achieved through the staff reduction.

The Ohio Department of Education has placed Twinsburg under a "precautionary" fiscal watch, Powers said. The district was informed in December that it must submit an expenditure reduction plan because of a projected $2.1 million deficit by fiscal year 2025.

Ohio public school districts are not allowed to deficit spend, and must submit a five-year budget forecast in May and November every year.

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Decrease in tax revenue stream hits district's checkbook

District Treasurer Julia Rozsnyai said a major reason why the district is facing a shortfall is the termination of the tangible personal property (TTP) tax and the recent phaseout of the commercial activity tax (CAT). The district received the last funding from the CAT tax in fiscal year 2022.

"We were one of the top five districts impacted by the loss of the TPP and the CAT," Rozsnyai said. "From 2015 to 2022, the district lost around a culminative $24 million. If we had not lost this revenue, we wouldn't be here."

Powers added that the district lost about 30% of its budget due to the termination of the PPT and CAT.

The lion's share of any Ohio school district's revenue comes from real estate taxes. The Twinsburg City Schools are expected to receive a little more than $37 million in real estate taxes in 2023, according to the district's November 2022 five year forecast.

The recent increases many people saw on their property taxes, however, will do little if anything to help ease the budget crunch, Powers said. That's because in 1976, in an effort to combat high inflation, Ohio passed House Bill 920, which froze a district's income on voted millage.

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"The income our school district receives from each levy voted since 1976 was frozen the moment the levy passed," Powers said. "Even when home values increase, a school district’s revenue remains the same because of H.B. 920. This was most recently demonstrated with Issue 7, the district’s renewal levy that was on the Nov. 8 ballot. Thanks to our very supportive community, Issue 7 passed. However, the renewal levy only generates $5.2 million annually – just as it did when it was first passed by our residents on May 4, 1993. No revenue increase is permitted for schools, except a one-time increase for new construction, and a small amount of revenue growth on inside mills."

This is also the reason, Powers said, that school districts routinely have to go to voters for additional funding.

Voters in Twinsburg have a track record of supporting levies, with passage of the last four levies attempts leading up to the successful November effort.

COVID-19 pandemic, inflation contribute to 'perfect storm'

The costs associated with running the schools during the COVID-19 pandemic — which included additional staffing, personal protective equipment, and instructional supplies such as Chromebooks — were difficult for the district to absorb, despite receiving roughly $4.1 million in total federal stimulus (including American Rescue Plan Act funds). Increased costs due to inflation also have put a strain on budgets.

"The pandemic had a huge impact," Powers said. "Also in that year, the governor cut state funding to the schools. All these expenditures caused that reserve to dwindle down. So that was a part of the perfect storm we are experiencing."

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Activities fees will rise, and busing will be adjusted

The district also plans to increase fees for athletics and other program; for example, the share families will have to pay to participate will go from 25% of the program's cost to 30%. Preschool fees also will go up. All of these increases are expected to bring in $91,000 total.

Business manager Matt Strickland said he audited the bus routes and made adjustments, which will save about $60,000. This includes making more corner stops and fewer stops at individual homes. This will not impact students with special needs, he added.

"I figured one of the buses cost $90,000 a year to run," he said.

Strickland said the district also can cut costs through centralized bulk buys of supplies as opposed to purchasing coordinated by each school.

In addition to the 36 staff positions to be cut through a combination of layoffs and staff attrition, Powers said, the district will not replace the public relations contract once the current consultant retires. The district also will reduce the number of extended contracts offered, and will eliminate its summer reading camp starting in 2024.

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Reporter April Helms can be reached at ahelms@thebeaconjournal.com

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Twinsburg schools to cut 36 staff as part of $2.9 million budget cuts