February 17, 2011
Treasurer’s report
Per-pupil spending, teacher-student ratio down By JENNIFER NESBITT ThisWeek Community Newspapers
The Westerville Board of Education took the first step toward its annual allocation process this week with an indepth look at the district’s financial statistics. The district is spending its money wisely, administrators and board members said during the board’s Feb. 14 workshop, but there is always room for im-
provement. The district spent less per pupil in fiscal year 2010 to educate students than the state average of $10,566, and ranks 12 out of 16 districts in Scott Gooding Franklin County for per pupil spending, treasurer Scott Gooding said. For the 2009-2010 school year, the
district spent an average of $10,068 per student, which was lower than previous years’ per-pupil spending and less than the county’s average of $12,467, Gooding said. The districts that do spend less than Westerville — Canal Winchester, Reynoldsburg, South-Western and Hamilton Local — generally have reasons, such as failing levies, for spending as little as they do. “These are districts who have gone
through extremely difficult financial times lately,” Gooding said. None of those districts have the “Excellent with Distinction” rating from the state that Westerville earned for the last school year, he said. For the 21 districts the Ohio Department of Education has identified as being most like Westerville, only seven spend less per pupil than Westerville, Gooding said. Among the 10 districts in that category that also have earned the “Ex-
cellent with Distinction” rating, Westerville ranks eighth in per-pupil spending, he said. Westerville administrators plan to look at the two districts, Fairfield City and Lakota Local, to see what they are doing to spend more efficiently while still keeping academic achievement high, Gooding said. “Their success in passage of levies is See GOODING’S REPORT, page A2
Commission puts Walmart plan on hold until March By JENNIFER NESBITT ThisWeek Community Newspapers
The conversation about the proposed renovations to Westerville Square, which includes tearing down three storefronts to construct a 108,000square-foot Walmart, will not continue at the Feb. 23 Westerville Planning Commission meeting. The Hadler Cos., which owns the shopping plaza at the northeast corner of Schrock Road and South State Street, requested that further discussion and a potential vote on the site plan be postponed until the commission’s March 23 meeting. Following last month’s long discussion with the planning commission, representatives from The Hadler Cos. said they would like to appear before the commission again in February but acknowledged that it would be difficult to have all of the members’ concerns addressed in time for the meeting. “They sent in the request to postpone. They just needed some more time to try and respond comprehensively to the questions that were on their on their plate,” Westerville planning administrator Rich Kight said. On the agenda for the Feb. 23 meeting, which
By Tim Norman/ThisWeek
Chinese Festival
Westerville resident Xing Teng, 11, dances with other members of the Columbus Contemporary Chinese School in a ballet performance during the fourth annual Chinese Festival at Westerville Central High School on Feb. 12. The festival celebrates Chinese culture and is organized by the Chinese Culture Link and the Ohio Contemporary Chinese School. More photos are on page B2.
See WALMART, page A6
Common Sense for Westerville Schools
Citizens group seeks district financial sustainability By JENNIFER NESBITT ThisWeek Community Newspapers
By Eric George/ThisWeek
Three years ago, Sharon Massen donated a kidney to her husband, Mark.
For Westerville couple, love means donating a kidney By JENNIFER NESBITT ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Love is usually symbolized by a heart. But for Westerville couple Sharon and Mark Massen, love may better be represented by a kidney. Three years ago, after 30 years of marriage, Sharon donated a kidney to Mark, whose failing kidneys required him to be on dialysis. When doctors said her husband ultimately would
need a kidney transplant, Sharon Massen immediately volunteered. “Sharon instantly said, ‘How about me?’” Mark Massen said. “We knew we had the same blood type.” Doctors started running Mark through the series of tests needed before a transplant can occur. At first, they did not look at Sharon as a donor. “They didn’t take Sharon’s volunteering seriSee WIFE DONATES KIDNEY, page A6
The citizens group Common Sense for Westerville Schools began its public outreach efforts Feb. 12 with a public information session at the Westerville Public Library. Members of the group presented information regarding the Westerville City School District’s finances and told the dozen people attending the meeting that their mission was to achieve one thing for the school district: financial sustainability. “We are not anti-tax. We are not anti-levy,” said Robert Edwards, one of the group’s founders. “We are looking for reasonable levies at reasonable intervals.” With a $79-million deficit projected in fiscal year 2015 in the district’s five-year financial forecast, Westerville schools would need to pass a 7-mill levy in 2011, a 8-mill levy in 2013 and a 9-mill levy in 2015, Edwards said. He said this would cost taxpayers an additional $217 per $100,000 home valuation in 2011, $248 per $100,000 valuation in 2013 and $279 per $100,000 of valuation in 2015.
DIRECTORY
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Salaries and benefits is the driver behind (the projected) deficit. It’s growing to be a larger part of the overall budget each year that we go forward.
ROBERT EDWARDS Group co-founder
Or, he said, the district could cover costs by passing a 10-mill levy each year in 2012, 2014 and 2016. This would cost taxpayers an additional $310 per $100,000 home valuation for each levy passed, he said. Right now, Edwards said, Westerville homeowners are paying about $1,540 per $100,000 in home valuation each year, but with the millage increases needed to cover costs, that would increase to $2,000 per $100,000 valuation in 2015 and $2,300 in 2018. Those numbers assume that spending would continue to increase at the rate presented in the five-year forecast, Edwards said.
The problem with the district’s spending, Edwards said, is that it is increasing at an average of 7.2 percent each year while revenue is only increasing at an average rate of 0.2 percent each year. “Does that sound like a financially sustainable increase?” he asked. The district must look at employees’ salaries and benefits in addressing its expenditures, Edwards said, because that is the area that comprises the largest portion of the budget, and it is an area that is rapidly increasing. Salaries and benefits made accounted for $107-million of the district’s $131-million budget in 2008, Edwards said. On the district’s five-year forecast, that increases to $157-million of a $188million budget in 2015. “Salaries and benefits is the driver behind (the projected) deficit,” Edwards said. “It’s growing to be a larger part of the overall budget each year that we go forward.” Members of Common Sense urged those attending the meeting to get active in attending school board meetings, talking to board members and district administraSee CITIZENS, page A2
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