Two Public Forums Wednesday on School Budget Cuts

The will have $6 million worth decisions to make, and it will need help from the community.

The final two public forums to present potential budget reduction options and hear from residents will be Wednesday. The first will be at the Twinsburg Senior Center at 9:30 a.m. and in the auditorium at 7 p.m.

Superintendent Kathryn Powers hopes to both present the options the district is looking at and hear input from the community. The goals of both the school board and administration are to be transparent with this entire process to the community and to get feedback from parents and residents.

"We have a lot of questions yet ourselves," Powers said in December. "We're interested in hearing from the community."

The list of reduction options features six categories that encompass the district: Certificated personnel, administrative personnel, classified and support personnel, operational, cost avoidance, and supplemental programming options. .

“We are facing some very serious financial challenges,” Board President Ron Stuver said at a Nov. 16 meeting. “It’s going to require some very difficult financial decisions.”

According to the district’s five-year financial forecast, it will start deficit spending by $2.3 million this year and would have a cash fund deficit of $30.5 million by 2016. Once it starts operating in the red, the state would come in and take over the district.

“I want to really stress that these are just options at this point,” Powers said. “We have not made any firm decisions moving forward.”

Read more about the budget reduction options:

• District Could Cut Possible $6 Million from Budget
• Changes Behind the Scenes Could Save Twinsburg Schools $370K
• District Looking at Two Pay-to-Play Options to Save Money
• Possible Cuts to Busing Could Save Twinsburg Schools Money
• School District to Explore Pay Freezes, Health Care Concessions
• Cutting Costs Will Likely Mean Job Losses for Twinsburg City Schools