Coventry seeks tax boost that could lift it from state oversight

You can't blame Superintendent Lisa Blough for getting fired up about the November election.

An issue on the ballot holds the prospect of independence for the Coventry Local School District she has run since Jan. 1, 2018, and has worked at for 25 years. For most of those years – since 1997 – the district has been under a financial cloud.

On Dec. 4, 2015, the cloud broke and lightning struck when the district was declared in a state of fiscal emergency by the Ohio auditor.

Since then, a five-member Financial Planning and Supervision Commission has overseen Coventry Local's financial affairs. Cuts to staff and facilities have followed as the district worked to restructure its finances and pull itself from state oversight.

Blough believes a proposed 1 percent earned income tax on the Nov. 5 ballot could lift her district out of the fiscal mire it's been in for more than two decades.

District officials estimate the income tax could generate about $2.6 million annually -- enough new revenue to produce a five-year forecast that complies with state requirements.

"The first thing that happens is we are going to start the process of emergence from fiscal emergency," Blough said.

Blough knows the tax is a tough sell to voters, but they aren't the first party she needed to convince about the ballot issue.

It also was a tough sell to the state commission overseeing Coventry's finances, barely clearing the oversight board on a 3-2 vote in late July. The board of education had approved the issue on a 5-0 vote the day before the commission's vote.

Commission chairman David Michel declined to comment and referred inquiries to Ohio Department of Education public relations.

In a July 30 email on the commission's vote, Blough called the issue "the most important campaign in the history of Coventry schools."

The relationship between the commission, the school board and the administration have been cordial, but often strained.

"Ultimately, we have the same goal," Blough said. "That [the] district is stronger than ever before."

She said it is stronger, and achingly close to a position to free itself from state control.

She also knows it's up to the voters, who will decide on the earned income tax issue, a departure from the usual property tax and bond issues.

It may be new to the district's voters, but it's not that uncommon among Ohio districts. Norton City Schools, Chippewa Local Schools and several others in the area have an income tax funding the three Rs.

Throughout Ohio, according to research provided by the district, about a third of Ohio's more than 600 school systems have an income tax. Only 25 percent, though, limit collections to earned income, the route chosen by Coventry Local.

It would not apply to individuals on Social Security, she said, and that's a key reason for the restriction to earned income. Pensions, IRA contributions and alimony also would not be taxed, according to the district.

"It certainly doesn't mean we are going to have a windfall," Blough said. "It gives us the amount of revenue we think we need for long-term financial stability."

If voters approve it, the tax would last five years and replace a property tax that expires in 2020.

Difficult cuts

It's been a difficult climb, and Blough is not afraid to say it.

A fiscal year 2019 forecast released in May by the Ohio Auditor's Office shows employment is down about 5 percent in the district since 2016.

For certified staff -- teachers and some administrators -- in the same period of time, the decline is more steep at 9.4 percent.

Morale took a hit and the district slipped in academic rankings, although it's on the rebound, rising from a "D" in 2018 to a "C" in 2019.

A building on Turkeyfoot Road that had once been an elementary school was jettisoned from the district's ledger.

Years have been spent stabilizing class sizes, which Blough said are now "reasonable" but "not small by any means."

Open enrollment, which the state identified as a drain on the district's resources, has been pared back, Blough said, although she's unsure the state's analysis about its effects is comprehensive.

"Since I've come on board, we have [about] 24 percent less open enrollment students," the superintendent said.

As of last week, the district had 1823 students. Of that, 557 were open enrollment students. The district includes residents of the township and slivers of Akron, New Franklin and Barberton.

"There has been an impact on morale," Blough said in a recent interview at her office. "[We] have sacrificed quite a bit and have done without for a long time."

That's why the election is so important to her.

The commission still wants the district to improve its health care costs, and Blough said it's in the works.

But for the first time this century, the district can see light at the end of the financial tunnel. Come late night on Nov. 5, the district will know its course for the near future.

Blough is optimistic voters will see it her way.

"I think it's an opportunity for us to turn the page," Blough said. "We've made great strides in the district financially. This is a great opportunity for us to expand that positive momentum..."

Alan Ashworth can be reached at 330-996-3859 or emailed at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @newsalanbeaconjournal.

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