Monroe Schools: Levy needed to get out of fiscal emergency

MONROE, Ohio - Currently, the state of Ohio controls all of Monroe Local Schools finances, but the district hopes to get out of fiscal emergency on Aug. 7.  That is when voters will go to the polls and decide whether or not to pass levy.

Signs are along roadways and streets, encouraging voters to take action Tuesday with either a yes or no vote. The school district wants a little more than a 7-mill levy. That tax would raise an estimated $2.5 million for the district.

"If we can get that extra revenue coming in then we'll be able to be in the black, we hope, by 2015," said Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Lolli.

The district's debts have been growing since its inception in 2003, about $1.5 million a year.  Some of that money was borrowed from a bond that must be repaid immediately.  Property owners would pay about $250 annually for every $100,000 owned.

Lolli said she has made a number of cuts to personnel over the past few years, mostly through attrition. She wears three hats right now: Superintendent, 7th-12th grades Curriculum Director, and Human Resources. If the levy fails on Tuesday, Lolli said the board will continue to place them on the ballot until one passes.

Right now the student to teacher ratio is about 29:1. Lolli said that before she made staffing cuts, that the ratio was closer to 22:1. The ratios could get higher if a levy fails.

"We will go back to state minimum standards in our teaching staff and our educational services that we offer," said Lolli.