Many of you might not remember, but back in 1974, after a series of failed levies, the school district ran out of money. Teachers and staff had to head to the unemployment line, and the schools closed their doors. Below is a clipping from the Akron Beacon Journal showcasing one of the teachers, David Parfitt (many of you might know him from the nature area at CIS named Parfitt’s Paradise).
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This was unprecedented - never before then had a public school needed to close its doors and send its teachers to the unemployment line. Several business owners in Doylestown came together and raised $50,000 within the community to re-open the doors. The Ohio State Legislature passed a law preventing school closures due to a lack of funds.
While not renewing the 1% won’t close our schools, it certainly will make a huge impact on their ability to be successful. $2.4 million in revenue lost needs to be made up, and while some cuts for things like busing, athletics, and other extracurricular activities will be made - that in total does get anywhere close to $2.4 million.
So where will the $2.4 million deficit likely be made from? Cutting back education programs to state minimums, resulting in sending Chippewa staff to the unemployment office like David Parfitt was 47 years ago? That isn’t a recipe for staying in the top 20% of academic achievement in all of Ohio.
In 1975 our community saw that even in a recession, not investing in our schools only made things worse for our community. Our school district is our biggest community asset, so let us learn from history by continuing to invest in our schools, even when times are tough.