Newark City Schools Faces More Cuts

NEWARK, Ohio—A Central Ohio district faces significant cuts.

Newark City Schools needs to cut $1 million from its budget.

NBC 4’s Tom Brockman GOT ANSWERS on the items that are on the chopping block.

Newark City Schools’ board of education gathered Sunday for a special meeting and approved cuts that eliminate jobs and programs.

“We’ve already cut 125 positions in the school district, and $8.3 million has been taken off the budget before this. So, we’re at the point we’re cutting into the bone,“ Superintendent Keith Richards said.

Richards was talking about the latest cuts approved by district officials such as the elimination of nearly two dozen positions, including assistant superintendent, and programs, including kindergarten art and middle school Spanish.

French, which was the second-to-last middle-school language course, was cut two years ago.

Richards said the new cuts won’t take effect until August 2009 and will save the district nearly $2 million—enough to possibly keep the district in the black through 2011.

“We didn’t cut math. We didn’t cut science. We didn’t cut social studies. We didn’t cut reading. We’ve kept the core subject areas strong,“ Richards said.

If voters had approved last year’s 7.7-mill operating levy, these cuts wouldn’t be necessary and the district would have been set financially for five years, according to Richards.

Richards did credit voters for passing a bond issue in 2004 but said additional operating funds haven’t been approved in more than a decade or since 1997.

“I’d like to see things turn around quickly,“ resident Vic Joyner said.

Joyner, who sent his four children through the district, said the district is headed in the wrong direction.

“I’m very disappointed it didn’t pass. I think strong schools make a strong community,“ Joyner said.

Officials said the district will turn to voters again with an emergency operating levy in May. Approval of that levy will allow for needed monies for three years.

If passed, things will stay the same as they are now.

If the emergency levy were to fail, Brockman said he was told more cuts were a very real possibility.

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