EATON TWP. – Their voices full of emotion, counselors Lisa Miller and Mary Duffy warned about 80 people at a community forum Saturday what could happen if their positions are eliminated if voters reject the 7.51-mill, 10-year additional emergency levy going before voters on May 4.

“I talk to students one on one when they go through horrible situations – parents divorcing, their mom dying of cancer, when they’re sexually abused,” said Miller, an elementary school counselor. “They can confide in me.”

If the levy fails and her job is eliminated as part of $748,800 of proposed cuts for the 2010-11 school year, Miller said she fears the needs of students might go unmet.

“Think about where these kindergarten through grade-four students will go,” she said. “The principals are very busy.”

Duffy, one of three high school counselors serving some 1,200 high school students, said she writes “countless” letters of recommendation for seniors going to college, works with students in academic distress and assists more than 100 Midview students who attend Lorain County Joint Vocational School.

“Who will address their needs next year?” Duffy asked.

Should the levy fail, Miller and Duffy would likely be reassigned to other jobs within the Midview district, according to Superintendent John Kuhn, who added that he has been juggling positions to take into account planned retirements.

If the levy fails, some course offerings would be cut, including a high school industrial materials course, where kids learn construction and home improvement skills, Kuhn said.

High School Principal Tom Faska said the loss of one of the three counselors at Midview High would be significant. His former school, Berea High, is the same size as Midview and has four counselors, he said. Faska offered to coordinate a network of people committed to getting the vote out in every precinct in the district. About 1,200 parents aren’t even registered to vote, he said.

One by one, the superintendent, school board members and staff talked about how they could contribute to the levy effort and expressed concerns about what will happen should it be defeated. Voters have not approved additional levy money since 1993, when a levy passed on the 11th try.

In recent years, Midview Schools has eliminated high school busing and cut staff and administrators. The latest proposed cuts would mean the elimination of positions ranging from teachers to librarians to coaches.

Midview Treasurer Floyd Parsson said the Midview district already spends less per student than any school district in Lorain, Cuyahoga and Summit counties. Without new money, the district will quickly go broke, he said.

This year, there is a projected $3 million carryover, with a $100,000 carryover projected for the 2010-11 school year, followed by a $4 million projected deficit for 2011-12, Parsson said.

A levy must be passed this year to help avoid deeper cuts – or state takeover – because the state wants a carryover of at least 2 percent, or $700,000 to $800,000, Parsson said.

“If we pass this levy, we will not see anything until 2011,” he said.

Even with pay-to-play fees of up to $550 per sport, Parsson said those fees bring in only $240,000 a year, while it costs $600,000 to provide extracurricular activities. Board member Don Whitesel said the participation in sports is down, especially in seventh, eighth and ninth grades.

“By the time of 10th, 11th or 12th grade, you don’t have enough for a team,” Whitesel said. “I’ve had people come up and say, ‘Eliminate all your extracurriculars,’ but they’re learning teamwork and how to get along with each other and how to win or lose.”

If the levy passes, Kuhn said the district will be able to retain its current staff and reduce the stiff pay-to-play fees charged for sports and other activities.

Last year, the district laid off Erin Gadd, its grants and communications officer, and Kuhn said the district is considering hiring a firm to help get the word out about the levy.

Tom Speaks of the Impact Group spoke at Saturday’s session and stressed the need for an accurate survey of what the voters want and a unified way to deliver Midview’s message. Kuhn said no decision has been made on whether to hire the Impact Group, which also contracts with the Medina and Lorain school districts in their communications efforts.

At the end of Saturday’s session, which lasted more than three hours, two parents said they were willing to help.

Jill Shaefer said she offered to be a precinct captain, and Lisa Ward said she thinks the district should stress that supporting the schools helps keep a community strong.

“If you have a declining school system, it will affect property values,” Ward said.

Cost to a homeowner

Cost of the 7.51-mill, 10-year additional emergency levy*

$100,000 home: $230 a year, $19 a month, 63 cents daily

$150,000 home: $345 a year; $29 a month, 95 cents daily

$175,000 home: $402 a year; $34 a month, $1.10 daily

$200,000 home: $460 a year; $38 a month, $1.26 daily

$225,000 home: $517 a year; $43 a month, $1.42 daily

$250,000 home: $575 a year; $48 a month, $1.58 daily

Source: Midview Schools

*Yearly and monthly figures rounded to closest dollar

Contact Cindy Leise at 329-7245 or cleise@chroniclet.com.

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