This is my prepared testimony before the Euclid Zoning Commission in 2002 regarding a charter school that wanted to open in Euclid.  I share this now to demonstrate my longstanding opposition to charter schools as designed in Ohio.   Obviously some of the property values have changed since my testimony in 2002 – but the property values chart is included in my remarks.

Thanks – Kent Smith 8/16/ 2009

 

 

Prepared Remarks of Kent Smith

Member of Euclid Board of Education

Housing Improvements – Building Standards

and Zoning Committee

September 11, 2002

 

As an elected member of the Euclid Board of Education, I believe that I have been charged with 2 duties on behalf of this community.  1.  Provide all Euclid children with the best possible education and 2.  Be a respectful steward of Euclid Tax Dollars. 

I stand in opposition to the granting of this use district exception because it is my view, that this project would fail both community objectives, as I understand them.

 Before I begin my remarks let me state that they are going to focus on the macro side of the issue.  What is the highest good for the most number of people.  However, I also believe this proposal is flawed on the micro side of the issue, which is the challenge of adequately housing and educating 40 all day kindergartners at the proposed site.

 On the education side of the issue, both parties will claim that there is research that supports their cause.  Quickly, I would point out that the Brookings Institute, just last week, released a study that examined 376 charter schools in 10 states and found (to quote the CNN article about the study) “students in charter schools are scoring significantly below public school pupils in basic reading and math skills.”

 But let the main thrust of my remarks be focused on the impact of this small charter school on the Euclid tax base.

 Now let me clearly state, that my opposition to this project is grounded in the policies that the state of Ohio has set up surrounding charter schools.  I am not opposed to Constellation Community School, in and of itself.  I am not opposed to increasing the amount of options for educating Euclid’s Children.  I am not opposed to competition. If I was opposed to competition I would be asking that City Council close down all the parochial schools.  What I am opposed to is the state policy that will take tax dollars away from our district that would be used to educate all of our communities children for the benefit of 40 children at this charter school.  If state dollars that would be destined for the Euclid Public Schools were not headed to this charter school, I would be in favor of the project.  In fact, I believe that all five school board members would be in favor of it.  The state policy is bad policy; it has bad ramifications for Euclid School children and the Euclid community.  A point that with the use of this chart (below) I will attempt to illustrate now.

Larger Properties in the Euclid Public Schools District

Tax Year 2001 – Collection Year 2002

 

Property                                Auditors Fair Market Value

 

Lincoln Electric                                                             33,241,910

 Indian Hills Senior Apts.                                                23,610,000

 Argo-Tech                                                                    22,082,000

 Watergate Apts.                                                                        20,153,710

 Americana (Harbor Crest)                                             15,044,910

 Reliance Electric                                                           14,392,310

 K-Mart                                                                         13,047,510

 Euclid Square Mall                                                        10,288,000

 Horizon House (Water’s Edge)                                      9,419,910

 Silverpointe Apts.                                                          9,000,000

 Euclid Villa                                                                   8,727,800

 Normandy Apartments                                                  7,463,710

 Hilltop Village                                                               6,822,110

 Euclid Medical Office Building                                       6,739,290

 WilloArms Apts.                                                           6,739,290

 PMX Corp.                                                                   6,235,400

 Gateway Manor                                                                        6,083,510

 BraeView Care & Rehab                                              5,780,200

 GE Lighting Inc.                                                            4,218,400

 Hose Master                                                                 4,000,000

 Rolling Hills Apts.                                                          3,626,310

 Motch Corp.                                                                 2,913,510

 Euclid Meadows                                                            2,802,510

 

 Our treasurer and legal counsel have calculated that if we lose 40 public school children to this charter school that would equate to losing 20 full day children because we do not currently offer all day kindergarten.  So those 20 children would equal the loss of $105,631 dollars in dollars that could otherwise be used to educate our children.  Keep in mind that if those 40 children count as 40 children and not 20 we are looking at a loss of approximately $211,000.  But the loss of $105,631 in taxes equals the amount of revenue generated from a Euclid property that has a fair market value of 6.5 million dollars.  It would be like that property doesn’t even exist.  Euclid’s largest office building, the Euclid Medical and Office Building that sits between Euclid Avenue and Richmond Road, has a value of 6.7 million.  Losing only 20 kids to a charter school would be like completely losing that property. 

 If the state is going to count these children as forty kids, that would equal the loss of 13 million dollars worth of property or K-Mart.

 Currently the school district loses $173,000 in tax dollars for Euclid children who attend charter schools in other communities.  That equates to a 10.7 million-dollar loss or a property slightly more valuable then the Euclid Square Mall, which by the way is currently delinquent in its property taxes by over $280,000.

 This list of 23 properties is not a healthy list; this is not a growing list.  We have lost the Motch Corporation, we might lose K-Mart.  The more big-ticket properties that we lose the more the smaller property homeowners are forced to pick up the tab.  And we, the school board, have no say or other option. 

 The beauty of our form of government is that we can respectful and passionately debate public policy in front of the public.  The irony of our government is due to the configuration of responsibilities in our government; this issue comes before 585 East 222 instead of 651 East 222.  If it were up to the school board this proposal would have been defeated 4-1.

 We are hamstrung by bad education policy that is being handed down by the state of Ohio.  But this body and this council has the ability to say no to education policy that is bad for Euclid.  And I would encourage it to do so.