Dear Colleagues,

Financial Crisis

As you know the district faces an uncertain financial future with the failure of the most recent levy.  We deal with the consequences of inadequate funding for our schools on a daily basis as we work in crowded classrooms with reduced or eliminated support budgets.  The CFT/ACPSOP staff is doing everything we can to solve budget driven problems all over the district at the same time we search with the district for ways to economize that do not impact teaching and learning.  The CPS budget crisis is real. We all must do our part in making this public case whenever we speak with our parents, friends, and family, otherwise more devastating cuts will follow and our work-lives and our children’s educational lives will suffer even more.  By the time you read this the Board will have made its decision about placing a new levy on the ballot in March and we hope that they decide in favor of a March levy.  It is our hope that a newly elected school board and a more effective levy campaign will make the difference in changing voters’ minds about why our schools need additional operating funds. 

We must keep in mind, however, that the problems of public school funding do not go away with a levy in March.  We must work hard to convince the public that the real problem of school funding resides in the state legislature where our elected representatives have chosen four times to ignore Supreme Court decisions that declared that the Ohio method of funding education is unconstitutional and therefore illegal.  Right now State Representatives and Senators who actively oppose public education control how the state funds our schools and this situation can only change when we vote them out of office.  We are entering a major election year and that gives us the opportunity to hold Columbus accountable by demanding that anyone we send to Columbus pledges to support public education by changing this unfair and illegal funding system. ...-->