Reynoldsburg Schools Staff Fear Pending Cuts
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Reynoldsburg Cuts
NBC 4's Tanya Hutchins talks with one school's employees about the impending cuts.
NBC 4
NBC 4’s Tanya Hutchins talks with one school’s employees about the impending cuts.
REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio—The president of the Reynoldsburg Support Staff Association said the district is down to the bare bones.
NBC 4 reported with the FAST FACTS.
Slate Ridge Elementary School Librarian Rhonda Eberst does double-duty as union president.
She said the face of Reynoldsburg City Schools will not be the same.
“We hardly recognize it now,“ she said.
She said she fears the city of Reynoldsburg will not be the same, either.
“We’ve been an “Excellent” district, and we can do this. We need to pass a levy, get money in here so we can continue to be Excellent,“ she said.
Eberst said custodians are frustrated because they’re worried how they’re going to cover the needs of school buildings after six custodians are laid off in January along with the district’s director of technology.
A technology secretary and a board office receptionist already have been laid off.
English As A Second Language (ESL) Teacher Laurel Purtell said she’s already felt the effects of previous cuts, including music, art and physical education at the elementary level.
“So if we have further cuts, I can’t imagine what it’s going to do to the classroom. It’s going to have a major effect on the kids in this district,“ Purtell said.
More cuts are coming, according to district officials.
They said another round of reductions will most likely take place before the beginning of the next fiscal year July 1, 2010.
Both Eberst and Purtell said they hope community members attend future school board meetings so they can hear for themselves where and why cuts are taking place.
The district hasn’t passed a school levy in 13 years.
The superintendent has told NBC 4 he feels the district is heading toward minimum state standards.
Advanced-placement classes at the high-school level, along with electives, could be cut next year.
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Reader Reactions
After Rhonda claimed the letter to the editor below was full of lies, the following response was submitted:
Considering the upcoming battle with the teacher’s unions (those taking 85% of the taxpayer’s levy money), now is not the time to remain silent. School board member, Elaine Tornero, who received the most votes of any candidate, cannot be left to engage this battle alone. Luckily, the vote tally indicates that this is the wish of the majority of thinking-taxpayers.
It is quite noteworthy that none of my questions were answered. I read the words “lie,” “lies,” “falsifications,” “hate,” “evil,” and “rants” below, but not a single fact is disputed. The last time I checked, the web master of www.Tax46.com left these facts posted for the slow among us.
I was saddened when the only person brave enough to use her actual name on this posting was democrat Rhonda L. Willford-Eberst. For those that haven’t a clue, she is the democrat librarian at Slate Ridge Elementary in charge of brainwashing our youngest and most vulnerable of students. Of all of you, I would have expected her to cite some sources… any sources. Of course, this just proves my point about the “incompetence” of those entrusted with the education of our children.
Then again, not many of you know that democrat Mrs. Willford-Eberst is the union president of the local Reynoldsburg support staff. What a complete surprise that she would endorse the wasteful spending in Reynoldsburg. (Sarcasm.)
By the way, I referenced Superintendent Dackin’s daughter as an example of one of the victims of incompetence. I have admiration for this young woman who entered adulthood with Sarah Palin as her chosen role model… with RINOs surrounding her in our fine town.
I anxiously await any contrary-facts to be posted among the personal attacks and the emotional reactions to my letter to the editor. Please note that I did not write the headline of this particular page, and that my “hate” continues to be directed at the leftist unions with the emphasis being on improving the education of Reynoldsburg’s students. The ideas presented on www.Tax46.com were well-written and worth consideration.
And on another note, I am standing up for those other disabled-residents, elderly and foreclosure victims that do not have the strength to do so. Go ahead and curse me for not sitting idly by while you attempt to persuade others that art class is more valuable than keeping your home.
When the students walk the halls of their respective Reynoldsburg schools, have them attempt to pick out which fellow students are homeless. I know of a few.
We have a few questions for those residents and bureaucrats who claim Reynoldsburg’s teachers and administrators deserve their obscene pay raises.
Just who came up with the notion that Reynoldsburg has “quality” teachers? The unions have fought against the testing of our teachers so that we would not find out just how incompetent they are. Why else would they oppose the testing of teachers?
With firsthand experience, we came across a “language arts instructor”—a fancy name for English teacher—who admitted he never could diagram a simple sentence. He is now retired with an overly generous pension. Now the State Teachers Retirement System voted to increase contributions to the pension fund both for teachers and districts. District contributions are scheduled to go up to 15.6 percent.
As for what we are receiving for our tax dollars, this past graduating class had an outrageous increase in valedictorians. There were 33 graduates who supposedly earned this honor. This conveniently included the daughter of Superintendent Dackin.
Are our quality teachers falsely inflating grades? Why aren’t the ACT and OGT scores reflecting this same increase in grades?
The numbers the district uses to expound upon are carefully chosen. They still cannot compete with the private schools, which spend less money and have better actual results. And no, parochial schools do not expel students because of bad grades or special needs. They also do not reject students because of their families’ financial difficulties.
Democratic school board President Cheryl Max knew she was on her way out, so she gave Reynoldsburg a lovely parting gift in the form of a Democratic treasurer, Tammira Miller. While Miller was making a respectable $55,000 annually in Zanesville, Max was kind enough to offer her a whopping $97,000. And, of course, Superintendent Dackin went along with this appointment gleefully.
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