Woodridge school officials say they've agreed to make job cuts to save money in the cash strapped district.

Woodridge superintendent Walter Davis says that the district's two employee unions were notified of the cuts in an emotional meeting on Monday afternoon.

"We will be eliminating 27 positions in the district at the end of this school year," Davis told AkronNewsNow.com just minutes after the union notification.  "That will save us $537,000 by eliminating those positions."

The Woodridge superintendent wouldn't detail the layoffs, only saying the jobs are a combination of teaching jobs and support jobs.

The move comes after voters in the Woodridge district turned back a levy request - again - in the March primary.

Davis says there may be some voter fatigue over the ongoing levy requests.

"People are a little tired of voting on this issue, I think," Davis tells AkronNewsNow.com. "and what I'm hearing is that they want to see us to trim our budget. They want to see us to live within our 'means', and I put the word 'means' in quotes because I'm not always sure how you would define that."

The district still hopes to pass a levy, but other cuts - including pay to play and transportation cuts - are being considered.  About $70,000 in administrative cuts are also in the works.

The Woodridge district is still looking for public input, and plans two community meetings in the coming weeks.

The aftermath of the levy failure in the Woodridge Local School District will consist of cuts and pay freezes at the top.

The Woodridge School Board is faced with decisions for where to make cost-cutting measures.

At a special meeting on Friday, Superintendent Walter Davis detailed what he and the district treasurer will do on their ends-- they've agreed to take a pay freeze and contribute more to their healthcare premium expenses.

FallsNewsPress.com reports Davis told the board he'll soon recommend the elimination of 27 jobs.

Combined, those moves would save $530,000, but that's just the start as another $70,000 in proposed general fund reductions are on the way from Davis. 

The district is eyeing a possible pay to participate program and transportation cuts.

The levy lost Tuesday by 249 votes.

On the web: FallsNewsPress.com 

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Woodridge Turning To Input Before Cuts

Levy Failure Could Mean Classrooom Cuts

The Woodridge Local Schools district increased its levy request as it goes back to the voters with Issue 10 on March 6.

The 6.83 mill emergency operating levy would bring in close to $10 million annually if it's approved. It was placed on the ballot in response to the district's levy failure in November by close to 250 votes.

Superintendent Walter Davis is not shy about pointing to where most of the district's money is spent. Even if the levy passes, he says $400,000 in cuts will have to be made.

"We are a people business, so obviously those cuts would include personnel reductions," Davis said.

If the levy fails, not only is play to participate going to become a reality, but cuts could reach the classroom. 

"Those cuts are going to go deep into programming and really will change the face of our district," he said.

Music programs and Advance Placement courses are on the table for reductions in spending.

This time around, Davis says the board and its levy committee is branching out in different ways to communicate with voters. Davis says a 24-question survey was posted on the district's website until Feb. 17 to gather a  24 a sense of its priorities if cuts are needed to be made.

Davis confirmed that play to participate fees were among the top suggestions by voters if the levy fails next month.

"We know it's a horrible time to be asking for new money with the condition of the economy, but as you know by law, we have to have a balanced budget and we know looking out that we won't have one if we continue to do business as usual," he said.

From emails and Facebook messages, to sending out mailers and grassroots efforts, Davis says the levy committee is campaigning aggressively, even with its website; supportwoodridge.com.

Previous Coverage:

Woodridge Levy In March?