The district will be on the ballot on March 17, 2020 for an operating levy that will provide resources aimed at continuing to provide a high quality Academic, Arts and Athletic experiences. We’ve spent considerable time and effort on building our Triple-A brand and that quality is in jeopardy. Our community will need to weigh in on what they’re most comfortable in supporting. I wanted to provide my take on a few things that I’ve read and heard in order to provide some insight.
On School Funding
- School finance in Ohio is complicated. The funding system has been ruled unconstitutional 5 times and it still has not been fixed. It’s unconstitutional for a number of reasons, but the main one is that it relies too heavily on local property taxes to fund the schools when the Ohio Constitution says it is the state’s job to provide a thorough and efficient education. This is a fundamental problem and it has not been fixed. I would encourage you to ask your locally elected Ohio Legislator what they are doing to fix Ohio’s school funding system.
- Only the Ohio Legislature can fix Ohio’s school funding problems that rely heavily on property taxes. For a district like ours that has very little industry and commercial property, the tax base remains the responsibility of the residents that choose to move here and remain here.
- Data from our 2017 and 2019 voter surveys indicated that the majority of people move to the Olmsted Community for the quality of the schools.
- As you know we are on the ballot in March for an operating levy. The unfairness or “unconstitutionalness” of Ohio’s over-reliant on property taxes is on display. Did you know that 1 voted mill for an operating levy for Olmsted Falls City Schools generates about $520,000 and 1 voted mill for an operating levy for a district further north of us (a district where I worked for 9 years) generates $1.4 million per mill? It means that we’re required to tax ourselves 3 times as much to generate the same amount of money for the schools. Seems unconstitutional doesn’t it? Nevertheless it is our reality and until the model is fixed, this is where we are.
- Our residents have told us that they are very tax sensitive. As a result, the district has a history of waiting until it is absolutely necessary to place a levy on the ballot and then we stretch it for as long as we can. It has been stretched for 10-years. Ten! When the dust settles, we will need to engage our community and ask them if we need to go on more frequent for less or less frequent for more, but the fact remains the Olmsted local economy is based on the support of residents rather than business. While the businesses that are here do indeed pay, the Olmsted residents have a heavier burden. I pray and hope that will change. It’s why we need to bring businesses in rather than build more homes.
- Some would argue that the only way it can be fixed is to simply vote “no” on every school levy, however there are consequences to the students at the local level. Simply put, we cannot provide what we cannot afford. It costs money to educate students. We’re a service organization and people provide the service…people cost money.
On School Rankings
- Like you, I live here and pay taxes. I live in Woodgate and with the increased value in my home, I will take a large hit. I’m fortunate that I have a good job and my wife works. I obviously believe in public education and moved my family here from one further north that has been deemed “very successful” based on traditional ratings…a place where we built our home and stayed for 10 years prior to relocating. We chose to move here. When I bought a similar priced home, my taxes increased.
- I’m an educator and I pulled my students out of one of those “Top 50” rated districts and moved here because I believe in what we’re doing and how we’re doing it. I wanted my children to experience the Bulldog Way.
- Our district has chosen to be different on purpose. There was a time when I was the Assistant Superintendent in Olmsted Falls (2007-2012) and we were chasing test scores. As a data person we would analyze test results, create similar test questions like those on the exams and we would spend considerable instructional time drilling. In a district where I previously worked for 9 years, we did the same thing. We were all about the tests and our scores were very high. That may have changed since I’ve moved on, but that’s what we did. In O.F., we were very good at the test score game and received awards for those accomplishments for 15 years. We could continue to receive those same awards if we stayed on that path.
- When I became superintendent for the district, through professional reading, experience and reflection, I had a professional epiphany and a change in heart that resulted in a profound shift in my educational philosophy…life is about learning and growing. I remember thinking back to a question that one of our high school teachers posed to me about being “all in” on standardized test performances. He said, “Jim…what do we win by being in first” and “what if being at the top of the list doesn’t improve the long-term outcomes for kids?”
- The answers to the questions were, “you win nothing” and “there is no evidence to suggest that being in first place in the standardized test score race leads to improved outcomes for kids.” Zero…nadda…nothing…no evidence. He was right, I was wrong and I needed to think, lead and behave differently.
- We have won awards from the State and from US News and World Report based on how our students perform on standardized tests, but we do not report on them because it detracts the focus from our brand and vision of Inspiring and Empowering students.
- With support and guidance of the Olmsted Falls Board of Education we sought a new path and chose to be different on purpose. While other school districts will report their “All A’s” report cards and drill & kill, Olmsted Falls Schools will not do this…not for as long as I’m standing, breathing and working in this space. It means nothing.
- Over the past several years our instructional focus has not been on being at the top of a list like it has been in the past. It has been on holistic education and providing a Triple A (Academics, Arts and Athletic) experience for our kids so that they can develop as people who are more able to make a profound contribution to society. That may be dreaming, but that’s what we’re doing.
- Our focus hasn’t been on scoring first, it has been on providing engaging experiences within the classroom, on the stage and on the court & fields. Our goal hasn’t been test scores, but experiences that will empower and inspire our students to be safe, responsible, respective and kind Citizens; to Collaborate and Communicate at higher levels, to be more Creative and think more critically; and to be Self-Directed and Self-Confident.
- Our state rating system doesn’t “count” for these things, but man these things sure count when they go to college or to work. The people that have them deeply developed in their bones help to make the world a better place to live. I have 3 kids and 2 of them have graduated from OFHS and my 3rd is a junior. They were more than prepared when they went to college. Other districts will claim–“we do those things too.” My response is “ok, but we do them better, we do them intentionally and they are at the core of what we believe.” It is the Olmsted Falls City School District’s vision for the future and for our students.
- We’re working on ways to measure and report on the skills and dispositions that we’ve deemed important. While they may not show up in a list of rankings, they will prepare the students that experience them for more than a standardized test. We’re not in the test score business, we’re in the mind, body and soul development business–and when we partner with our families and community at a profound level we do us, we do it differently and we do it well.
I would ask the reader to share this with others so that they understand the value that the school district provides to the community’s children. I’ve been in a few different places and have had experiences in some very successful school districts based on those traditional measures. I’m a professor at Baldwin Wallace and have taught aspiring principals and superintendents and I will tell you–Olmsted Falls is different, and it is different on purpose. It is special and very unique. At the end of the day each person who votes will need to vote based on their financial situation, but they shouldn’t think for a minute that we are somehow “less” or “unworthy of support” because we’re not listed in the top 50 of Ohio’s School District rankings based on test scores. We quit that test score chasing game a long time ago.
We’re playing a different game on a different field. Our scoreboard just happens to look different.
Thanks for listening.
Jim
OFCS Superintendent's Update 