Mt. Healthy Schools will not be reconfigured next school year

Mt. Healthy City Schools Financial Planning and Supervision Commission unanimously voted not to reconfigure schools.

School officials said the move would cost the district around $27,000 to change the school signage, plugs and wiring, and all of the summer work to prepare classrooms for the next school year.

Superintendent Valerie Hawkins said this would be a one-time expense. Commissioner Jaqueline Johnson-Wilkinson, who was appointed by the governor, questioned the timing of this move.

“Reconfiguration sounds like something that can be done, but should it and can it be done right now while we’re in fiscal emergency,” she said.

Mt. Healthy Teacher’s Union Vice President Joe Ohradzansky is happy the commission didn’t vote to reconfigure schools.

“We’re really thankful that the state commission has decided to not make a rash decision,” he said. “We want to make the best decisions for our students.”

This is the current school structure:

• High School (9-12)
• Junior High School (7-8)
• North Elementary (1-6)
• South Elementary (1-6)
• Early Learning Center (Pre-K/K)

If the schools are reconfigured, the junior and high schools are in the same building. The reconfiguration would move the junior high students to a different school. The elementary schools would become Mt. Healthy North and Mt. Healthy South.

• High School (9-12)
• North (1-4)
• South (5-8)
• Early Learning Center (Pre-K/K)

Hawkins said the high school students are over capacity. She said they have some classes in the media center, the foyer outside of the auditorium, and a science class is happening in the choir room.
Representatives from the state auditor's office also attended the meeting. They found the high school uses over 101 percent of its space, junior high school uses nearly 87 percent of its space, north elementary uses 56 percent, south uses 57 percent and the early learning center uses 72 percent.

They gave a 45-minute presentation on their recommendations to save money. Reconfiguring schools was not one of them. Their findings showed that enrollment has stabilized and didn’t see an opportunity to reconfigure the schools.

The teacher’s union isn’t opposed to this idea in the future, but they want it to be well-thought-out.

The state auditor's office also recommended cutting two bus routes that could save the district $118,000.

District officials say they are using 29 buses this year but could cut six buses if they reconfigured schools. The commission decided to table this decision until they have a better understanding of how a change in bus routes will impact students. The commission said they don’t want to create more obstacles for students to get to school.

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