Voters in Huber Heights said no to a school levy for sixth time earlier this month. The Huber Heights City School District is stretching to cover the cost of Common Core.
District Superintendent Sue Gunnell says an extra $4.4 million a year would have meant 14 additional teachers, and the school needs new books and supplies to help teach the Common Core standards.
“We have not been able to update our instructional materials for quite some time,” she said.
The extra money also would have made it cheaper to play sports. Right now it costs $428 to play one sport for one season. The Huber Heights school levy would have cut that fee almost in half.
And for a comparison, students who play football at Fairmont High School in Kettering pay $60. Gunnell says some students are being priced-out.
“Looking at our numbers last year, based on our team enrollment, some of our teams were down between 10, 15, 20 percent,” she said.
The district has reduced its operating budget by $14.5 million over the last four years. That’s due to a loss in property tax revenue and state funding. Another request might be on the May ballot.