Fenwick graduation 2012
Ponitz graduation 2012
Cars and Parts Swap Meet
E-mail 
E-mail 
E-mail Home > Blogs > Get on the Bus > Archives > 2008 > August > 13 > Entry
Tough times ahead for Jefferson schools
In today’s paper, I wrote about the state takeover of Jefferson schools and some of the tough choices ahead for the district. This will be a painful period over the next couple of years, I am afraid to say.
In reading the state auditor’s report on Jefferson from June, one thing seemed clear — the state feels this district with less than 900 students should consolidate with a neighboring district.
That is a lot easier said than done.
Jefferson is an unusual district in that a large chunk of it is rural but it is also primarily African American and borders Dayton. The rural/suburban nature of the district hurts it financially. Jefferson very little commercial tax base, which means it must depend on home and farm owners for tax revenue. That makes it difficult to pass levies, and levies for new money have repeatedly failed for a decade.
So on paper it makes sense to suggest Jefferson ought to consolidate with another district. But that overlooks some of the realities of the situation. First of all, many Jefferson parents chose the district because it is a small, tight-knit community. The kids stay close to home, everybody knows each other and there is a lot of support for the kids. I can tell you right now few people in Jefferson will favor the idea of consolidation.
But even if consolidation were a must, where would Jefferson’s kids belong? While the ethnic make up of the district has more in common with Dayton schools than any other adjacent district, it would mean busing most, if not all, Jefferson kids off to city schools. Other than the cost savings of closing down Jefferson’s school district there are not too many other advantages. Perhaps the one good thing is that at least the city school district has the existing infrastructure to address the special education needs and other urban-style problems common to Jefferson and Dayton.
But would Dayton would even be interested in such an arrangement? Seems to me like this would be a hard sell. The district might like to get the state aid for a few hundred more kids but would those additional funds cover the cost of extra busing and other higher costs related to serving Jefferson kids? That would be a big question and the answer could demonstrate that a partnership with Dayton makes no sense.
Even so, it’s hard to see how Jefferson would be a better match to consolidate with its other neighbors, small and rural schools in Brookville, Valley View and New Lebanon. Those other districts are both culturally different, with far fewer African American students, and under resourced themselves.
These are painful questions to contemplate. Unfortunately for Jefferson, I think options like this will have to be on the table for the district to escape state takeover.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: School Funding
Comments
By Kyle
August 14, 2008 10:01 AM | Link to this
Most of the students in our school are from other districts. They live with relatives. It would be better just to split the district and have the western part go to Lebanon or Valley View and the other part go back to Dayton. The state can’t afford to subsidize Jefferson any more. Dayton would benefit from the addition numbers for state aid. The rural side would be better merged with the western border districts. The taxpayers can’t afford all the high cost management here for a few students.
By Mskiles314
August 13, 2008 11:27 PM | Link to this
According to the PUCO map, Brookville doesn’t boarder; Trotwood, West Carrolton and Miamisburg do, with Dayton, New Lebanon, and the View. If JT does merge with Dayton, does that mean the Dayton Levies apply immediately? That could be a shock.