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Improving Bellaire Schools Efficiently

After a fiscal catastrophe about a decade ago, followed by years of state financial oversight, Bellaire Local School District officials had to concentrate on making prudent decisions about how to use the public’s money. Within weeks, the state control has been lifted and voters have approved a new tax levy to provide more funding for the school system.

But the focus on spending money wisely needs to continue. If needed improvements in academic quality — including more than replacing programs cut during the state oversight period — are to be made, not a dime can be wasted in Bellaire schools.

Even before the levy was approved last week, the school system was far from the poorest of its size in Ohio. With annual spending of about $9,366 per pupil, it fell roughly in the middle of the pack. The state per-pupil average is $8,840.

More needs to be done to get money into classroom instruction. In the percentage of funds spent for that purpose, Bellaire is near the bottom among schools of similar size.

Something is being done about that. As we have reported, Bellaire is among several East Ohio school districts looking into whether they can save money through sharing some maintenance services for school buses.

More of that sort of thinking is needed.

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