Friday, February 8, 2013
The superintendent said it was too early in the process to comment about specifics.
If Gov. John Kasich’s budget proposal goes forward, the Westlake schools wouldn’t gain or lose any money in the next two years. The governor revealed his school funding reform plan last week, promising that no districts would lose money in the next two years under his proposal. The proposal aims to close the gap between high- and low-income districts and, Kasich said, it would be fully funded from the start. The state supreme court has repeatedly found Ohio's school funding system to be unconstitutional. A plan proposed by former Gov. Ted Strickland also aimed to address this, but was not fully funded when passed. Kasich's overall budget proposal was announced on Monday. According to figures released by the state’s Office of Budget and …
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Estate tax elimination, local government fund cuts will cut into surplus.
The city of Westlake is facing millions in revenue cuts under the recently passed state budget. The looming elimination of estate taxes in 2013 and a cut of about $1 million in local government funding over the next two years has city officials crunching numbers for next year’s city budget. “We all knew going into this year that we were going off a cliff in Ohio,” said State Rep. Nan Baker. “Unemployment is too high, a lot of people are in stress with their homes, college students leaving for jobs. I think everyone knew we were going to have to cut back on state resources and revenue.” Under the recently passed state budget, Westlake will lose between $400,000 and $500,000 in 2012 and 2013 from the Ohio’s local government fund, according …
41.45969
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Westlake City Hall
27216 Hilliard Blvd, Westlake, OH
/articles/state-budget-means-millions-less-for-westlake
1076079
/locations/4842074
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Cost-saving measures made by administrators and the school board this spring will work to close the budget gap, but personnel wage freezes and a prospective levy are still on the table.
Now that Gov. John Kasich’s two-year, $112 billion operating budget is in effect, the Westlake City School system will see $4.1 million in state funding losses over the next biennium. To absorb the losses before the start of the 2011-12 school year, the administration and school board proactively approved several cost-saving measures this spring, which included the elimination of high school busing, the elimination or reduction of 40 positions and plans to introduce a tuition-based, all-day kindergarten program next year. Scholastic programs were cut, but none were eliminated, Superintendent Dan Keenan said. The $4.1 million state cut is an improvement from the $6.7 million tabulation included in Kasich’s mid-March budget proposal. But …
41.459692
-81.9218
Westlake City Schools Central Office
27200 Hilliard Blvd, Westlake, OH
/articles/state-budget-to-cut-westlake-schools-funding-by-41-million
1075569
/locations/4777370
Thursday, April 28, 2011
State Rep. Nan Baker talked with residents from five cities on Tuesday about state issues.
Residents of five cities expressed their concerns over school budget cuts, voiced their frustrations about Senate Bill 5 and asked questions about other state issues at Tuesday night's Town Hall. State Rep. Nan Baker invited residents of District 16, which is made up of Bay Village, Fairview Park, Rocky River, North Olmsted and Westlake, at Westlake Recreation Center to hear about the issues facing the community. State Budget Baker stressed that jobs are still her priority, but said the state budget has been the most pressing issue in Columbus. “We can’t print the money; we can’t borrow the money; we need to balance the budget,” Baker said. The House of Representatives is considering amendments to Gov. John Kasich’s proposed state budget …
41.44977
-81.941279
Recreation Center
28955 Hilliard Blvd, Westlake, OH
/articles/town-hall-draws-residents-to-talk-about-state-budget-sb5-and-more
1838411
/locations/4169553
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Administrators discuss tuition for all-day kindergarten and concessions from teachers' unions and a possible levy.
After seven hours of deliberation, discussion and argument, Monday’s Board of Education meeting was, at best, a non-starter as school officials couldn’t agree on much of anything. In front of a capacity crowd of more than 300 parents, teachers and residents in Westlake High School’s cafeteria, board members splintered on two of Superintendent Dan Keenan’s proposals to help absorb $3.6 million in proposed state cuts for the upcoming school year. The first proposal dealt with entering into negotiations with Westlake’s two teacher unions—OAPSE and the WTA— to either lay off or reduce pay for 68 Westlake City Schools employees. The move is projected to save about $2.7 million. “The unions came to me and said ‘How can we help?’ which isn’t …
41.459692
-81.9218
Westlake City Schools Central Office
27200 Hilliard Blvd, Westlake, OH
/articles/westlake-board-of-education-splinters-amid-tough-budget-decisions
1075569
/locations/4094205
Friday, March 25, 2011
Officials are planning to maintain quality education but waiting for more details.
The Westlake City School District is facing millions in cuts under Gov. John Kasich's proposed state budget, forcing administrators to plan for a leaner school year. “We’ll lose somewhere in the $2-$3 million range as it looks now,” said Superintendent Dan Keenan. “We have a forecast, so we accounted for some of that loss, but it’s a lot bigger than we anticipated.” Of the district’s $50 million annual budget, $6.5 million comes from various state sources. Considering the lagging economy, officials had planned for a 17 percent cut in state funding over the next two years. The district is now facing a budget hole two or even three times as large. Statewide, the proposed state budget would reduce school funding by $3.1 billion. The majority …
41.459692
-81.9218
Westlake City Schools Central Office
27200 Hilliard Blvd, Westlake, OH
/articles/westlake-schools-prepare-for-millions-in-cuts-under-proposed-state-budget
1075569
/locations/3797335
Thursday, March 17, 2011
The library will be affected less severely than others that rely more heavily on state money.
Since 2008, Ohio libraries have seen state funding reduced by 23 percent and they may be facing another 5 percent cut under the new state budget. The budget proposed by Gov. John Kasich on Tuesday would cut funding for local governments, libraries and schools among others. Westlake Porter Public Library was prepared for the reduced funding and budgeted for a 15 to 20 percent cut from the state this year. “The proposed budget does cut library funding again, but we’re relieved at the cut,” said Director Andrew Mangels. “It’s all fairly new and raw, and as the budget comes out, we’ll see a little more.” According to the Ohio Library Council, 38 percent of all public libraries in the state reliy solely on the state Public Library Fund to …
41.44849
-81.92452
Westlake Porter Public Library
27333 Center Ridge Rd, Westlake, OH
/articles/proposed-state-budget-would-cut-westlake-porter-public-library-funding-5-percent
1076214
/locations/3717470
Westlake Resident-Joe Smith
11:25 pm on Thursday, July 14, 2011
While I am not for the estate tax, this is just another example of Kasich Radicalism. Afterall, we are taxed our whole lives, why tax us when we are dead. While he has stated he will not raise taxes, elimination of the estate tax will raise taxes. The elimination of the estate tax only benefits the wealthy. By eliminating the tax, the cities will need to tax other ways to compensate. Therefore … more ›