Warren Local Schools
 

The following Little Miami School District story illustrates the point that the large spending increase necessary to build a new campus will mean that residents are unwilling to spend more money at any time in the near future.  In this case, "building new" is sending them beyond state control and toward dissolution of the school district.

 
A friend reported that the Little Miami School District in Warren County built a brand new campus.  They then failed to pass a funding levy in 7 attempts, with the 8 coming up.  She continued, "They have cut busing, are cutting to state minimum teaching, all sports are pay-to-play at $650 @ a pop, and they very nearly let a brand new building sit empty this year because they couldn't staff it.  They may have to start sending kids to one school in shifts.  They have levy 8 coming up and it will likely fail again, and the state will take over.  There's talk of dissolving the district into the 6 surrounding it, and their debt will transfer to them too and they are struggling to keep up as it is.  This is the first domino, school funding in Ohio is failing."
from: Cincinnati.Com
Little Miami: Our problem is your problem
BY MICHAEL D. CLARK • MCLARK@ENQUIRER.COM • JANUARY 8, 2011
LOVELAND - Officials from the region's most financially distressed school system issued a warning to neighboring districts Saturday: Join Little Miami Schools' efforts in planning its dissolution or risk the consequences.  The insolvent Warren County school system is one of only 10 of Ohio's 613 school systems to be classified by the state as in "fiscal emergency".  After seven straight tax levy defeats since 2008, the 4,100-student Little Miami district is drawing statewide attention as one of the largest, rural and suburban districts - with a still growing enrollment - to plunge into state takeover as of last summer.  Little Miami officials recently have claimed that if voters don't reverse their trend - and this year pass the first operating tax they have approved since 2002 - that by November the district will become the first in Ohio's history to have its state license revoked and be dissolved into adjacent districts, which could ignite unforeseen financial hardships on those districts, as well.  "This situation is unprecedented. We're the canary in the coal mine," Little Miami Board of Education President Kym Dunbar told an audience of more than 250 in a donated Loveland conference room.

Read the rest of this article here: http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110108/NEWS0102/101090332/1196/NEWS/Little-Miami-situation-unprecedented-&h=1d212 

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