MEDINA COUNTY, Ohio–Cloverleaf Schools are in the red, declaring a state of fiscal emergency.
Now, the State of Ohio is stepping in to help.
“It’s tremendously difficult for most school districts right now,” said Medina County auditor Mike Kovack. “Cloverleaf’s like a lot of other school districts, has been busy cutting costs, but expenses go up to and they have not had any new operating money for quite some time.”
The district, which has nearly 3,000 students, has been struggling financially for years.
In 2003, the Ohio Department of Education first warned the district of its potential budget problems.
“We’ve already lost the football coach. I saw he left today,” said Beth Huth of Westfield Center. “I have a lot of friends that work, are teachers at Cloverleaf, and they’re worried. Teachers have been there, ready to retire, and they’re like, ‘maybe we should get out now.’”
This month, the district borrowed $1.3 million from a bank to cover payroll. The district expects to be $600,000 in debt by the end of this fiscal year and $2.6 million in debt by next year.
“What we’re looking at now cuts into the heart of what we’re doing,” said school superintendent Daryl Kubilus, Jr. “The course offerings that we have. My fear is that some of that could be in jeopardy as we move forward.”
Yet, the school district has tried to remedy the problem.
In the past three-and-a-half years, it’s actually eliminated $4 million from the budget. Those cuts include eliminating freshman sports, field trips and 53 personnel.
Many parents, however, worry about what’s in store for these students.
“I think they should keep the personnel and cut everything else,” said Tina Gollihue, a parent of a fifth-grade student. “They have like 40-something kids shoved in one room with one teacher, and they can’t even get the special help that they need. If they’re special kids, they can’t even provide that.”
In the next 15 days, a five-person financial committee will be selected to take place of the school board. Two people will be chosen from the state, while three will be locals, including a parent and businessperson. The school district has no say on who will be on the board.
“Really, they take over the powers of the school board down there until they’re out of fiscal emergency, so again, they’ll be looking for ways to cut costs or ways to raise revenue,” Kovack said.
Once that committee is developed, it will have 120 days to create a financial plan for the district. The group will remain in place until Cloverleaf schools are out of debt.
“I think, honestly, what they should do is they should start cutting from the top,” Gollihue said. “ Like the superintendent, cut his budget in half, make more available funding for the kids. I’m definitely worried. “