Maumee Superintendent Estimates 18 Teaching Positions To Be Eliminated If Maumee School Levy Issue Is Defeated
BY NANCY GAGNET— MIRROR REPORTER
Deep cuts in the way of programs and services will happen in the Maumee City Schools should the levy fail, superintendent Dr. Greg Smith told the board of education.
At a special meeting on October 17, the board heard recommendations by Smith if voters reject an upcoming 4.9-mill operating levy, which will appear on the November 8 ballot.
Declining real estate valuation, the loss of state reimbursement from the commercial activity tax, and the loss of additional state and federal funding has led to the need for additional revenue, Smith said.
The levy is expected to generate $2.2 million.
If the levy fails, staff positions to be cut include eight administrative support positions, six operational positions and 18 teaching positions.
The programs that would be eliminated or reduced due to the staff cuts include library, counselor, psychology and technology services; all-day kindergarten; family and consumer science classes; and art, business, foreign language and music programs.
In addition, cuts in first through fifth grades and middle school math and science would result in class sizes of more than 30 students, Smith said.
Central office administration and a supervisor position would also be included in the staff cuts, he said.
“Our district is already at a tipping point. I believe if this recommendation has to be carried out, it will be devastating for the students, the parents, the staff, the school district and the entire community of Maumee,” he said.
While staff cuts would take effect in the 2012-13 school year, cuts in transportation would happen immediately should the levy fail, Smith said.
Effective December 1, high school busing would be eliminated, he said.
In addition, busing for students in kindergarten through eighth grade who live within a two-mile radius of school would also be eliminated in the 2012-13 school year.
The district is expected to save $143,000 through the elimination of high school busing and $100,000 through the elimination of busing students in kindergarten through eighth grade, Smith said.
A $300 pay-to-participate fee would also be implemented at the start of the winter season, Smith said.
Those fees apply to students in grades seven through 12 who participate in sports, band, Select Singers, cheerleading and speech and debate, he said.
All other activities would require a fee of $200 for the first activity, with reduced fees of $150 for the second activity and $100 for the third activity, he said.
The pay-to-participate fees are expected to generate approximately $300,000, and staff cuts are expected to save $2.2 million, he said.
“As result of the unknowns such as retirements, contractual seniority, and the number of students who would participate in the extracurricular, more time is needed to finalize the reductions to achieve the $2.2 million in cuts,” Smith said.
The board approved a November 9 emergency meeting to be held only if the levy fails in order to vote on Smith’s recommendations.
“Nobody wants this to happen, but to cut $2.2 million from the budget – that’s a lot of programs and people. These cuts would be devastating and catastrophic to our district and to the entire community,” Smith said.
District treasurer Paul Brotzki has reported that if the levy passes, the owner of a $100,000 home would pay an additional $150.06 annually.

Model United Nations Competition Offers Lessons On Global Scale
BY NANCY GAGNET — MIRROR REPORTER
Solving the world’s problems – or at least finding common ground with nations from around the world – is the premise behind Model United Nations, a competition designed to simulate the United Nations.
At an October 8 event on the campus of Ohio Northern Univeristy, a team of students from Maumee High School finished fifth out of 32.
“It was very informative to see how things are run at the international level,” said senior Matt Ducey, who participated in the competition with Jacob Huner and John Barry.
During the competition, each team of three students was assigned a country to represent.
“It really puts a whole perspective on how the world works,” Huner said.
The Maumee team represented Iraq, and the students had to work with committees to create legislation they could present to the General Assembly.
Issues regarding women’s rights, Third World country debt crisis and human trafficking were discussed, and the students were required to propose legislation as ambassadors from the country they represented.
“Even if we believed it or not, we had to represent Iraq as best we could,” Huner said.
To prepare for the competition, the students researched Iraq, studying the government and culture.
“It was fun because Iraq has a lot of problems, so it was easier to address and it went well for us,” Huner said.
The students were judged by how well they could speak in a formal setting, how well they participated and how they stayed in character, Barry explained.
“It was interesting to get 32 people in each room trying to work together. There would be one large group and then others around who wouldn’t work with the group, but who would try to undermine what was being done,” he said.
The Maumee students are also part of the speech and debate team, said MHS language and Spanish teacher Ray Hafemann, who accompanied the students to the competition.
“I didn’t know exactly what to expect as it was my first UN competition with students. I received a flyer in the mail inviting our school to go. I knew that Matt Ducey had participated in Buckeye Boys State this past summer and was successful, so I approached him first and from there it just fell together,” Hafemann said.
Listening to the students discuss the competition on the way to Ohio Northern, Hafemann realized that they were well prepared.
“They knew ahead of time that they were going to be representing Iraq and had researched the country and its policies so that they could present themselves that day in the debates as ambassadors from Iraq would. They had even written a position paper to take with them to the conference and present,” he said.
Huner and Barry, who are juniors, also expressed an interest in participating next year, he said.
“On the way back, they kept talking about strategies to be even more successful the next time that they attend,” Hafemann said.