AACS levy-failure aftermath: Huron Primary could be closed
Mar. 29—ASHTABULA — There is a possibility that the Ashtabula Area City Schools' Huron Primary will close after the 2024-2025 school year.
AACS has not received new operating levy funds since 2003, according to Superintendent Lisa Newsome.
A proposed new operating levy for the district was rejected by voters in the March 19 primary election.
If passed, the 2.9-mil levy would have generated $1.3 million annually for the district to help with operating costs including: utilities, supplies and supporting teachers and staff, according to a press release. Voters rejected the levy 2,484 votes against to 1,248 votes in favor, according to unofficial results from the Ashtabula County Board of Elections.
"To keep our budget balanced ... we have decreased the number of classrooms, carefully reviewed all purchases to reduce expenditures and are considering refiguring our district, which may result in the closing of a building — possibly Huron Primary," Newsome said.
In 2018-2019, AACS student enrollment was 3,280 total students in K-12, according to district records. In 2023, enrollment was down to 2,850 students.
Public school funding is tied to student numbers.
As school districts deal with enrollment declines and the end of the pandemic-era relief funds that padded their budgets for three years, more are facing one of the most controversial and impassioned decisions in K-12 education: wether to close buildings with lower enrollments, according to an article in Education Week. Pandemic-era funds expire later this year, putting more stress on districts' budgets.
According to Ohio Capital Journal, a lawsuit was filed in Jan. 2022, accusing the state of Ohio of improperly and unequally funding private schools — specifically targeting the growth of the private school voucher program.
"I have been watching the voucher expansion in Ohio, which is having a negative effect on public school funding," said District 11 Ohio State Board of Education member Meryl Johnson.
Public school advocates saw eye-popping increases in private school funding through vouchers, according to Ohio Capital Journal. Stephen Dryer, former state representative and former chair of the Ohio House Primary and Secondary Education subcommittee for the House Finance Committee said in the Ohio Capital Journal article, "You should be funding the public schools. If you want to fund the private schools, fund the private schools, but there's no reason you can't do both."
The AACS, meanwhile, is looking for was to balance the budget and continue to provide quality education.
"Our operational costs continue to increase," Newsome said. "AACS BOE must operate within a balanced budget and we are exploring every possibility to be fiscally responsible, while most importantly maintaining academic excellence for our students."
Newsome said that the district will look at ways to utilize the Huron Primary building within the community or just keep it completely shut down, if it comes to that.
"We would absorb the preschool within another building," Newsome said. "We are not cutting preschool. We would have to find a home for After School Discovery and the Boys and Girls Club as well."
