Thegatewaynews.com - Groups lose schools as meeting place; with budget cuts, buildings now close at 4 p.m.

by Holly Schoenstein

Reporter

Streetsboro -- Groups that previously used the school district's buildings for meetings and activities have had to find alternate locations, both within and outside of the city.

The school district decided last November, following a failed 9.5-mill levy, to close all buildings at 4 p.m.

According to information provided by the Board of Education, about 60 groups asked to use school facilities in the months before the cuts were implemented. Some of the groups requested to use the buildings repeatedly over several months.

Superintendent Linda T. Keller said the facilities are no longer available to groups after the school day ends because the school district doesn't have enough workers to keep the buildings open.

"The overriding reason is our loss of custodial staff," she said.

The School Board voted last November to reduce the district's custodial staff by five full-time positions.

According to Treasurer Neil Barnes, the cost savings for the district is difficult to measure and isn't a large amount.

School Board Vice President Andrew Lesak said the panel hasn't discussed which services would be restored and when they would be restored if voters pass a 5-year, 7.4-mill operating levy in May.

"The Board would like Neil [Barnes] to advise on the timing of all that," he said.

But some groups say they received abrupt notification that school facilities are no longer available, making continuing group operations difficult.

Scott Templeton, the program director for the nonprofit Streetsboro Youth Wrestling Organization, said practices now have to be split between Hudson Middle School and a facility in Mantua. The group met at Streetsboro High School three times a week in the evenings and also used the building for program fundraisers.

"We met in the wrestling room at the backside of the school for 20 years. When the levy failed, we were given four days notice, and now we're homeless," he said. "We were astonished. I don't even know how to put it into words."

As the organization was forced to find alternative facilities, enrollment in the program dropped from 32 to 20 children. Templeton attributed the decline in enrollment to families who are unable or unwilling to travel for the practices and matches.

The Streetsboro Band Boosters also settled into a new meeting location last month at First Baptist Church in Aurora.

John Sulik, president of the Band Boosters, said that after the group was informed it would no longer be permitted to meet at the school buildings, it had to find alternate meeting locations on short notice.

"We were forced to meet at Eat'n Park, but it's not the ideal place to meet," Sulik said. "We'll have to go outside of Streetsboro because there just aren't any spaces for us. The churches are already filled up with Boy Scouts and other organizations. It's obviously not as convenient for the community to have to travel to another city, but we didn't have any other options."

He said the organization also was forced to cancel its annual dinner dance, during which it raises money for band uniforms.

According to Keller, the principals at each of the school buildings notified the groups that they would no longer be able to use the buildings as they have in the past.

She said one administrator told her one person who was affiliated with a group was "disappointed but they understood." Keller said she was unaware of any other complaints.

Sulik said he wasn't notified by a principal. Rather, he called Keller after the levy failed last November and asked how the groups would be notified.

"She said we should just start making other plans," he said.

"I understand the school system's reason about being fiscally responsible, but I would hope they would weigh that against their responsibility for contribution," he said.

City Hall has been fielding a lot of requests from groups wanting to meet there.

"We haven't had the opportunity to allow them into the building because we've been busy with our own programs," said Greg Mytinger, director of Parks and Recreation. "We don't rent out indoor facilities, just outdoors. We have an ordinance for facility use and who's allowed to use it. I believe it says city-sponsored groups."

Streetsboro Middle School Principal Steve Hatch said the middle school used to be open until 10 p.m. before the cuts, with groups such as city-affiliated sports teams leaving by 9:30 p.m. so janitors could clean. He said the only groups that meet there now are interscholastic sports teams. Sports leagues that were affiliated with the city used to use the building but don't anymore.

Tracy Moore, a secretary at Streetsboro United Methodist Church, estimated five groups personally asked her if they could use the church for activities.

"We've tried to open our church to as many as we can," she said. "Other ones called, but the time slots they've requested were already taken by someone else."

E-mail:
hschoenstein@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3152