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Bare Minimums: As Taft Calls for More Math and Science, Trimble Schools Hurt for Textbooks and Supplies

Posted on: Sunday, 29 January 2006, 15:00 CST

By Aaron Marshall, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio

Jan. 29--GLOUSTER, Ohio -- The hardluck stories about the poorest school district in Ohio come cascading out of Trimble Local Schools staff members like the rains that frequently flood this corner of rural Athens County.

Art teachers forage for supplies in trash bins. A high-school roof is patched with plastic place mats and rubber cement. Social-studies textbooks are so old that they don't mention the Vietnam War, much less either conflict in Iraq.

In the 15 years since more than 500 Ohio districts banded together to successfully sue the state for failing to fund schools adequately and equitably, the view from the poorest of 612 districts hasn't changed much.

Trimble Local, a district of 1,056 students about 50 miles southeast of Columbus, still struggles mightily to meet basic requirements. The number of classes and programs offered is a fraction of what is offered in wealthy suburban districts.

As Gov. Bob Taft rolled out his latest initiative last week to beef up the core curriculum that Ohio high schools must offer, Trimble High School Principal John Abdella had something else on his mind.

"Why can't they come up with a way to fix the problem?" he asked. "It's not all about money, but kids shouldn't be penalized because of geography, the way our kids are now."

Although the state provides 87 percent of the roughly $8,000 Trimble spends per student, it's difficult to make up enough ground in a district where 1 mill of property tax produces $37,139, less than a third of the state average. In some wealthy suburban districts, 1 mill means more than $500,000.

Besides having the least-lucrative tax base in the state, the Trimble district faces declining enrollment, which siphons away money each year.

That's a fancy way of saying that aside from a Dairy Queen, a Family Dollar and a few diners and gas stations, there isn't much in Glouster to tax. And despite several Supreme Court rulings that mandated otherwise, Ohio's system of funding primary and secondary education still relies primarily on local property taxes.

"It's the classic example where property tax and school funding don't work," said state Rep. Jimmy Stewart, R-Albany, whose district includes the Trimble schools.

Stewart said some schools in his Appalachian district benefited from state money pumped in after the school-funding lawsuit.

"In fairness, there has been some progress as a result of the lawsuit," Stewart said. "But it's not to the point where a highpoverty district in a low-wealth area is getting the funding they need."

Taft spokesman Mark Rickel notes that per-student spending for schools increased 56 percent during the past seven years.

Rickel said significant progress has been made in closing the funding gap between the state's poorest and most-affluent districts. In 1997, poor districts received an average of $600 less per student than rich districts; by 2003, they were averaging more per-student funding than rich districts.

Taft's State of the State proposal, which would require students to have four years of math and English, three years of social studies and science and two years of a foreign language, doesn't add up in a district that has one foreign-language teacher and no room in the current budget for new textbooks or repairs to buses and buildings.

"There's no way," said Trimble Superintendent Cindy Johnston. She added later: "I don't think they have any idea when they are making these proposals."

Trimble staff members acknowledge that the state has made strides with its historic $4 billion school-facilities program, which provides money to fix schools and build new ones.

Yet even that program, which pumped nearly $11 million into improvements at the district's elementary and high schools, has come with a catch.

There's no money in the budget for even the most basic upkeep and repair.

"We end up doing a lot of borrowing," said James Dunlap, the district's maintenance man, who gets supplies from whoever is willing to donate.

The lack of supplies has forced some creative solutions. Plastic place mats from a nearby bargain store were rubbercemented into place to patch a leaky roof on the high school.

"We patched it up like you would a tire," Dunlap said.

The elementary school gym renovation financed by the state hasn't gone as planned.

The gym floor, which was laid twice after mistakes were made in lining the court, is coming up after only six years. That has forced phys-ed teacher Mike Moore to plan activities heavy on moving in place.

"I don't allow them to run," he said. "I'm afraid the tiles will slip out and someone will fall and get hurt."

Heading to the ballot for more money isn't really an option, school officials said.

Not only is unemployment in the district among the highest in Ohio, but the first 3 mills of any tax increase would go to the state because of how state tax rules apply to its current tax rate.

"We'd be asking voters to pass a 5-mill levy when they would only be seeing 2 mills of it," explained Cindy Rhonemus, the district's treasurer. "That's no real incentive to pass a levy."

Despite the stark conditions, it's not all doom and gloom.

Alumni contribute money for textbooks, and several teachers have taken out second mortgages on their homes to help finance a high-school softball diamond being built by volunteers.

Area businesses have contributed paint for the elementary school, and parents have donated a glorified shed behind the high school that serves as a weight room.

"This area supports the schools because that's all they have," Johnston said. "But there is only so much they can do."

amarshall@dispatch.com

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio

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Source: The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio

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