The cost of education
$100 million: Salaries for Lakota’s 1,700 employees
$33 million: Total benefit costs
$60,000: Average teacher salary
$10,000: Average district’s share of employee health insurance
$79,000: Average cost of a teacher, including retirement/benefits
11-12 percent: Amount teachers pay for health insurance
15 percent: Amount administrators pay for health insurance
80 percent: Personnel costs in the budget
Source: Lakota Local Schools
LIBERTY TWP. — Salaries, not programs, should be cut as Lakota balances its budget, one resident said at a recent school board meeting.
“It seems like the school district is not being run like a business,” Skip Harrison said March 22.
Homeowners do not want to hear about more taxes or program cuts, he said, and asked the board to stand up for financially strapped residents who are reticent to pay more taxes to support “the status quo as far as salaries and benefits.”
Personnel costs have been an increasing focus of residents, board President Joan Powell said, and the board has heard people “loud and clear.”
However, budget cuts are complicated when state mandates restrict money allocations and salaries are set by union contracts.
“Let’s be clear: there are many ways we try to run this as a business, and many ways it becomes a little more problematic,” she said.
Things that aren’t negotiated, like administrator pay freezes, are some tools used to reduce expenses.
Contract talks not open to public
“A lot of our programs are fueled by people,” Powell said. “They are the lifeblood and the heart of our district.”
Teacher salaries, step raises, cost of living raises and supplemental contract salary schedules are negotiated items, and Powell said that is something not discussed in public.
However, she said it is receiving more attention as residents compare their salaries with teachers.
“Teachers and public employees used to be a very underpaid lot,” Powell said.
Salaries were not comparable to other college graduates, so they were compensated with “excellent” benefits and retirement, she said.
“Teachers are no longer an underpaid group.”
Pension payments set by state
Another nonnegotiable element is retirement plans. State law requires schools pay 14 percent of every employee’s salary for retirement. Employees pay 10 percent, said Treasurer Craig Jones. Typically, districts pick up both portions for the superintendent and treasurer, he said — and that includes Lakota.
Retirement benefits for teachers are based on age, years of service and the average salary of the highest three years of earnings, according to the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio. Benefits increase with additional years of service. Once a teacher retires, the district stops contributing its percentage and a teacher is paid through the retirement system.
Pensions outdated
The district can’t cut costs, but Powell said pension programs need to be reformed at the state level.
“Government employees really are one of the few remaining people that have pensions like that,” she said. “That is a very high benefit that I think is out of line with the benefits that most people get.
“At the same time, this is a law right now. It isn’t up to Lakota to change that benefit structure.”
Lakota officials have not challenged legislators to change the system, she said, but they do lobby to keep the district’s portion the same when legislators debate bills to raise contributions.
Using buyouts
Lakota Education Association President Judy Buschle wouldn’t talk about pensions, but said the average teacher in Lakota has 11 years of service.
As teachers elect to take a buyout, she said, it will save the district money and allow the board to hire younger teachers at a $36,000 starting salary.
Both teachers and support staff employees have until April 23 to accept the buyout.
Revenue streams
The way the state funding formula works, the district’s revenue does not increase with inflation. Superintendent Mike Taylor said cutting expenditures alone will not solve the budget problem, because the state expects Lakota to pick up the larger portion of that cost to educate students. He said a levy, in addition to a change in the way the district does business, is the answer.
“We’re at a real crossroads,” he said. “That’s how serious this is.”
At a reduction of 70 staff members, Lakota has not faced this many layoffs in its history, he said.
“My biggest concern right now as a superintendent — you can look around at other school districts and every one of them is hitting the wall, Lakota included. My fear is this: We were able to go through our reduction package without eliminating programs at this time ... You can only nibble so much. ...We need a new revenue stream, because that’s the system the state has set up for school districts, and we’ve tried to live within that system, and we’ve even gone to Columbus to change that system.”
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