Valley View Local Schools has a five-year, 6.97-mill emergency levy on the Nov. 6 ballot to avoid an operating deficit. It is expected to raise about $1.5 million annually for the district, and cost the owner of a $100,000 house about $213 per year.

The rural, Montgomery County district of less than 2,000 students has had a busy year: It broke news of an impending deficit, implemented large-scale cuts, removed its superintendent after a public outcry and earned its third-straight “Excellent with Distinction” rating on the 2011-12 state report card from the Ohio Department of Education.

Residents said the school system is sound, but some had financial questions for the district.

“This is a huge levy for our community, in the economic climate that we’re in right now,” said Kathy Rettich, the mother of four Valley View graduates. “A lot of seniors live in Germantown on fixed incomes, and it’s such a huge amount.”

In May, Valley View cut 20 staff members; reduced extracurriculars; cut all-day kindergarten back to a half-day, except for parents who wanted to pay $2,000 in tuition; eliminated field trips and professional development; reduced extended school and after-school detention; and delayed new instructional materials.

Superintendent William Kirby said these cuts, which totaled close to $1.7 million, were made to address a drop in state funding, a decrease in property tax collections and the overall impact of the economy.

In addition, Valley View employees are in the second year of a base pay freeze and had their step raises frozen for 2012-13. Kirby said employees also increased the amount they pay for their benefits this school year, from the district paying 90 percent and the employee chipping in 10 percent in previous years to a split of 85/15 this year.

“Our revenue level is now at the same level as in 2009,” said Kirby, who has been in education for 40 years and a superintendent for 14 years but is in his first year at Valley View. “The district has lost millions of dollars in revenue.”

Shannon Cox is the mother of two Valley View High School students and a chairperson on the district’s parent-run levy committee. She said the committee’s intent is to tell residents: “Here’s the state we’re in.”

“We’ve used the term ‘perfect storm,’ but I would never blame it on a particular person or event,” Cox said of the financial situation. “It’s not just a Valley View thing; it’s a state thing, it’s the political climate and it’s the financial climate in the state and in the country.”

Cox said it will take cuts and a levy together to balance the district’s budget.

If the district relied on a levy alone, she said, “it would be like a 13.8-mill levy.” If it made reductions alone, “it would be like shutting down another building.”

Valley View reorganized the use of its facilities in 2011 to save $1.5 million.

Rettich said the news of the impending deficit was startling for many local residents, noting that Valley View is one of two Montgomery County districts (out of 16) that also collects a school income tax.

“I think there was a shortfall with the checks and balances, which needed to be looked at a lot harder,” Rettich said. “Why didn’t we hear about this deficit sooner?”

Kirby said the district went from a balance of $5.4 million in 2010 to $2 million in 2011 and less than $800,000 projected for fiscal year 2012 because the board delayed reductions for a year, not knowing how bad the economic climate would get or the severity of the state cuts.

He said, given this trend and the unknown financial landscape for the next fiscal year at the state level, Valley View is expected to have a negative fund balance by 2014 without additional revenue.

If this levy fails, he added, more cuts will be made that have not been outlined. The district also would be back on the ballot in May.

“And the issue with that is that collections on that (May) levy couldn’t be made until January 2014, when the district is expected to be operating in the red,” Kirby said.

If the levy passes, Kirby said the district will keep reductions as they are, but the funds are expected to get the district through the next five years.

This summer, close to 1,400 community members signed a petition asking for the resignation or dismissal of longtime superintendent Sherry Parr, due to Parr’s failure to answer specific financial questions, among other reasons.. Valley View teachers in the bargaining unit also passed a vote of no confidence in reference to Parr.

The school board negotiated with Parr for her resignation in August, buying out the last year of her contract for $120,000. According to Treasurer Dan Schall, that was $30,000 less than her compensation package would have been for this school year. Kirby was hired at Valley View for a one-year salary of $90,000.

According to the ODE, Valley View’s average administrators’ salary was $82,329 for fiscal year 2011; that’s higher than the state average of $76,037 but lower than the Dayton-area average of $83,097.

Kirby said two veteran administrators retired for fiscal year 2012; one will not be replaced and the other will be replaced at a reduced cost.

The district’s average classroom teachers’ salary was $56,762, which is below the state average of $57,904 and below the Dayton-area average of $57,136.

“It’s a people business,” Kirby said. “The money goes to support the people that provide the service.”

Rettich said the education her children received at Valley View was among the best in the county, and each of her kids has gone to college and done very well.

“We’re a thriving community, and we’re very proud of our school district and our teachers,” she said. “I just don’t know if I’m going to vote for this levy. It’s a toss-up.”