Dear Bulldog Families,
I hope everyone enjoyed the long holiday weekend in observance of Memorial Day. We have officially made it through ten weeks of the government mandated closure of our school buildings in Ohio due to the coronavirus pandemic. I continue to be incredibly proud of all of our Bulldog staff members, students and families. Day after day I see evidence of continued learning and, more importantly, of relationships and connections between teachers and students being enhanced in many creative and innovative ways.
I am reaching out this morning to provide our Bulldog families with updates on several important items as we begin our final week of new instruction. Thank you for taking a few moments to carefully read the information below.
OFFICIAL ELECTION RESULTS ARE IN!
I am VERY pleased to report that last week both the Cuyahoga and Lorain county Board of Elections released official results for the March 17, 2020 presidential primary election, which was extended to April 28, 2020 due to coronavirus. We can now officially report that the critical operating levy for Olmsted Falls City Schools PASSED with an overall margin of 55% FOR THE LEVY and 45% AGAINST THE LEVY. The official vote total for the operating levy for Olmsted Falls City Schools was 3,550 FOR and 2,848 AGAINST.
Our district had an overall voter turnout of approximately 40%, which was double what we were seeing statewide for this election! We want to again express our sincerest thanks and great appreciation to our school community for exercising your right to vote in this important election. Every vote made a difference! The passage of this operating levy is more important now than ever before as our school district works to maintain the ability to provide our Triple A excellence, which we know is a great source of pride for our community.
I want to especially thank all who worked to help educate voters on what was at stake with this important operating levy and to all that attended the district’s series of levy information meetings. On behalf of the students and staff of Olmsted Falls City Schools, again, we are truly grateful!
STATE FUNDING UPDATE
As mentioned in my last communication, the passage of our district’s first operating levy in more than a decade was followed just days later by Governor DeWine’s announcement of significant cuts to K-12 education funding beginning with a 5.17% cut to our district’s state funding in this current fiscal year, which ends June 30, 2020. This cut will mean approximately $700,000 less in state funding as we close out the current 2019-2020 school year. The district is currently working to confirm cost savings realized from the current building closures and align our year-end purchase orders with final expenses in order to assess the impact to our bottom line as we close out the books for this year. We believe that these savings and adjustments will offset the $700,000 cut. Unfortunately, without the Governor’s ordered cuts, the cost savings realized over the past 10 weeks could have been carried over to the next fiscal year - further strengthening our district’s financial position for what lies ahead.
Additional state funding cuts are being projected for 2020-2021 and 2021-2022. While the amounts of these possible future cuts are still unknown at this time, we are already working diligently to make projections in our forecast and explore avenues to further increase revenue and streamline expenses. Keeping our school community informed about these critical financial developments as they unfold will be a top priority for us. I will continue to share additional information as it becomes available to us, along with details on our district’s plans to mitigate the impact of potential further cuts.
LOOKING AHEAD TO NEXT YEAR: RELATIONSHIPS MATTER MOST
Discussions are still taking place at the state level regarding recommendations for schools in the fall. While there continues to be much speculation, there remains little tangible information from which to plan. Please know that we remain on constant alert for information that will provide further direction for us to begin more concrete planning. Again, keeping our school community informed of developments will remain a top priority.
One thing I can say with confidence is that – no matter what the return to school in the fall looks like – in Olmsted Falls Schools, relationships will be at the center of it all. Our Bulldog staff is committed to connecting with students each and every day and I am confident our students and families will feel that whether we are back in buildings or not.
CLASS OF 2020: SENIOR SHOUT-OUTS, YARD SIGNS & MORE
As I provide this latest update, I want to take a moment to acknowledge our seniors. I am especially proud of how the Class of 2020 has persevered over these past weeks. In addition to keeping up with their coursework, including many taking AP and CCP exams, they have had to come to terms with the loss of a series of activities and events that they’ve been looking forward to throughout their high school years. I know Principal Spagnola and his team are working hard on plans for a memorable commencement ceremony and will continue to be in touch directly with seniors and their families as details are finalized.
In the meantime, other traditions have continued along with some new ones as would be expected from our Bulldogs! It is truly the Bulldog Way to dig in and figure out how to make things happen. The traditional congratulatory yard signs have been delivered by Bulldog staff and it was great to see these pop up throughout the community! OFHS has also been featuring a series of senior spotlights and shout outs via social media showcasing our great students and wishing them well. Our OFHS Senior Art Show took place by way of an innovative drive-thru format this past Saturday and the work of these talented students was impressive as usual!
CLOSE OF 2019-2020 SCHOOL YEAR
As indicated in my last update to families, new instruction will wind down this Friday, May 29th. Beginning Monday, June 1, no new instruction will be provided, however our teachers will remain connected to students to provide assistance with completing assignments, to answer questions, and to support any individual needs that have arisen during the course of distance learning.
Students and families will notice an adjustment to teacher availability June 1 - 5 and June 8 & 9, as teachers adjust their virtual classroom schedules to accommodate important professional development sessions being provided by the district as we begin to prepare for next school year. In the event that we end up needing to return in the fall under a continued distance learning model, we want to ensure that all staff have additional tools and training that will maximize the success of continued distance learning.
Again, while no new instruction will be provided after June 1, teachers will remain accessible to students to provide support as needed through the official last day of school. For students in grades 1 to 11, the official last day of school is Tuesday, June 9. For our kindergarten students, the official last day of school is Thursday, June 4. Families of graduating seniors will be receiving a detailed end of the year schedule for the Class of 2020.
In closing, please continue to monitor communication and emails coming directly from your student’s school building. Building principals will be continuing to share important information and instructions about year-end logistics such as belongings/medication pick-up, which has been scheduled for next week (June 2-5). As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to our building principals, school counselors, psychologists, teachers or any member of my district administrative team should you have questions or need assistance. We are all here to help.
Stay safe and be well.
Sincerely,
Jim
Jim Lloyd, Ed.D.
Superintendent
Olmsted Falls City School District
26937 Bagley Rd.
Olmsted Township, OH 44138
Phone: 440-427-6000
Twitter: @OFCSSuper
Web: www.ofcs.net