Moving Forward . . . 2009 and Beyond

In difficult economic times it is a challenge to think far into the future.   The immediate needs caused by unemployment, rising fuel and healthcare costs, and a faltering housing market tend to draw our attention away from long-range planning. As the Warren Local School District prepares to start the 2008-2009 school year, I’d like to challenge our community to look beyond today’s concerns and start to plan for the long-term future of our district. In the coming year we will need to consider the following issues:

Academic Improvement
The Warren Local School District has a reputation for academic excellence. A good reputation is generally built through successful planning and implementation of that plan. New requirements called the Ohio CORE Curriculum will require more students at Warren High School to take advanced mathematics and science courses, including additional lab requirements. Warren is certainly ahead of the game with this mandate; however, there is still some ground to cover to assure that our students are successful. In the past, we have had federal grants that have provided after-school and summer intervention services. Those dollars will not be available after the 2008-2009 school year. The primary challenge will be to develop effective, low-cost means for providing the academic support our students will need to be successful within a more rigorous curriculum.

Levy Renewal or Replacement
Warren Local School District currently collects on a 6.8 mill Emergency Levy that is set to expire in 2010. The first opportunity to renew or replace this levy will be in the spring of 2009. The levy raises approximately 1.75 million dollars and is used toward the purchase of textbooks, educational supplies and materials, school buses, and significant routine maintenance to keep district facilities up to date (i.e. heating, electric, roofs.) As the Superintendent, I am hopeful that district residents understand the importance of this levy and will support the levy when it is placed on the ballot.

Facilities Planning
The Warren Local School District is currently eligible to access approximately 54% of the funds necessary to replace existing school buildings. New legislation allows districts to replace one or two schools at a time, as opposed to replacing all district facilities at once. The Warren Board of Education has started the process of putting together the planning team necessary to propose a bond issue for the purpose of building new schools. Board members will be discussing plans for gathering community input and options that may be considered in an effort to move forward with a facilities project. While new buildings don’t automatically make for a better school system, our district needs to seriously consider the benefits of beginning a facilities project in the near future. Taxpayers could benefit for many years from the savings realized from taking advantage of available state funding and currently low interest rates.

Thomas J. Gibbs, Superintendent of Schools