January 24th, 2020 
vbadmin On March 17, 2021, Vandalia and Butler Township residents will be asked to renew the levy that is in place for the schools.
Over the last few years, I have really tried to learn about schools as much as I can. It is a very sophisticated finance world to say the least.
Most people agree Ohio’s school funding model probably isn’t the best. Local communities are asked to take on the bulk of the burden.
Funds coming into our district from the state seem to be decreasing but yet the state is requiring more and more.
Over the last few years, it seems to me more folks have engaged the schools to learn more. The district under the previous leadership of Brad Neavin and under Rob O’Leary today has truly embraced these inquiries.
The leadership has made the effort for transparency and for open discussions. The district suffered a major loss when Bruce Sucher passed, but the school board has answered the bell.
Eric Beavers, as the treasurer, continues to find ways to save the district money. He has refinanced bonds to save the tax payers millions roughly $2.3 million dollars, he has lowered pay to play and many other items. I recently sat through a presentation where Eric Beavers highlighted the “Fiscal Stewardship” of the district and was amazed by the steps the district has taken. This information can be found on vbcsd.com inside the Quality Report for 2016-2017. The high school and the other schools are beaming with school pride and the sense of school spirit has been reinvigorated in Vandalia. The school held its first ever district wide pep assembly and the kids in our neighborhood were still talking about it over that weekend. For me, the best investment I can make is to invest in our local community and a major part of that is investing in our schools. If you have questions reach out to the board office, you will be amazed how willing they are to discuss. Please support the schools on March 17th.
Jeff Bardonaro
Vandalia-Butler Class of 1998
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