Q. Is the state requiring New Bremen to do something about our buildings right now?
A. No, the state will not require New Bremen to renovate or build a new building.  However, the OSFC is offering to co-fund part of a new building if the community agrees to fund the rest of the project.  We have no assurances that the State of Ohio will continue to fund OSFC projects in the future, and with the issues we are facing at the current K-8 building, the Board of Education believes that we need to seek the state’s assistance while we can still get it.

Q. I read about the push towards school consolidation.  Why put $13+M into a new building if we might have to consolidate with neighboring districts?
A. The consolidation issue has died down in the past six months, but even if the state did consolidate districts, the combined district would still have the same amount of students to educate.  The buildings might be used differently, but they would all still be used. 

Q. What is the board’s intent for the existing land, baseball and football fields at the current K-8 site?
A. This is currently undecided, but anything other than selling the building or tearing it down would be at an additional cost to the district.  As for the baseball and football fields, there would be no additional fees to keep them, only the continued maintenance.  The land where the current elementary/middle school is located is valuable, even more so without the building.  The board invites public input for suggestions on this subject.  A decision will be made prior to voting on the levy.

Q. If we combine all thirteen grades into the same building again, would we eliminate the need for redundant staff and administration that the split building necessitated?
A. Staffing issues are assessed based on need and responsibilities.  The State of Ohio is mandating more evaluative measures than ever before to insure student performance.  When a teacher or administrator retires, an assessment of need is completed.  In some instances, the position is re-hired and in others, the positions have been left unfilled.  The superintendent will have a role in making these decisions for the district as well.  As always, highest consideration will be given to meeting the needs of the students and being fiscally responsible for the school district.

Q. What will the additional cost of bussing be?
A. Since we don’t know how many additional students will be riding a bus, this is a very hard number to come up with at this time.  Currently, some of our buses are not a full capacity, so we could add students to these routes without adding costs.  Also, high school students who currently drive to school could now bring younger siblings, decreasing the students needing to ride.  We can say that an average town route costs approximately $10,200 annually, which includes fuel, maintenance, driver salary and fringe benefits.  We would not need to add to our bus fleet, since we currently have spare busses. 

Q. There are many delinquent taxes listed in local papers.  If the taxes are increased due to this levy, what will happen in New Bremen?
A. Although all taxing districts have delinquent taxes, historically New Bremen has a very low rate. Our hope is that will continue.