Until the age of eighteen children are required by law to attend school. But in Middletown, some students have no way to get there. Those who do make it to school find that academics, extra curricular activities and other vital programs have been cut this year.
According to Campaign Headquarters, an organization that speaks to the public regarding the levy, Middletown City schools have had to cut $1.5 million from its budget since 2005 in order to stream line the schools. When asked why the school is back on the ballot again after a levy passed in 2005, Campaign Headquarters said, “In 2005 a Community Financial Advisory Committee recommended that we ask for small increases to reduce tax burden. The Advisory Committee recommended that we return to the ballot in 2007.” In order for the extra curricular activities such as choir concerts, free sports, and various clubs to exist, as well as for class time above the state minimum of 5 hours per day the school needs at least $7 million.
On November 6 the levy will go back before voters. The amount asked of the voters will again be $7 million. This is broken down to about $5.70 a month per $100,000 in home value.
The school crisis comes at a time when Middletown City students need more attention than ever. Board of Education President, John Venturella said in the State of the Schools Report that since 2003 the student need for free lunch has increased by 74 percent. Venturella said, “This creates new barriers to learning and if unattended, may prevent students from achieving at high levels.”
The financial crunch is so severe that busing has been cut for both the high school and junior high, and students must find their own way to get to school. For those with parents who don’t care or won’t take them, they must walk, ride the city bus, or catch a ride with friends. High school counselor, Walker Williamson, said that many students have asked him if they have the option of taking online classes so that they can stay in school. His response to the students’ desperate question was that he wasn’t sure the school was ready to offer that alternative.
Many students in Middletown City School district attend school as a safe haven, without their parent’s support. Other students who are pushed by their parents to attend have transferred to Madison school district, and others.
Debbie Alberico, Community Relations Communication Specialist for Middletown City Schools, said that 300 students used an open enrollment option to transfer to other school districts in the 2006-2007 school year.
The students that are stuck in Middletown school district must worry about their highschool career as well as college. Ann Larson, a counselor at Miami University in Oxford, OH, said that the failed levy won’t affect the Middletown students applying to Miami for the fall 2008 semester, but it may directly affect the underclassmen because they will not have the advanced classes their upper classman had.
“Universities shouldn’t hold students hostage because of a levy not passing, “she said, “It’s not the students’ fault that their school isn’t presenting them in the best light.”