Madison Schools chief says Grade 1 showed him the district is old-fashioned in the best way

Not so pleasant, he said, the district’s financial struggles which saw him ask voters for a school income tax hike in May, which was defeated on the ballot, and funding for the lagging state similar to what some other districts in Butler County are as well. experience.

The 1,500-student district recently announced $600,000 in budget cuts to programs and staff for the upcoming school year following the school tax defeat.

“The state doesn’t help us as much as other districts around. It is sad. We’re doing a lot of good things and we’re still not getting the support that a lot of other schools are getting in the state,” he said.

The budget cuts have improved the district’s financial projections and “are the reason we’re not on the ballot in November,” along with another attempt to raise local school taxes.

Either way, Staggs said he remains optimistic after getting to know Madison Schools and the surrounding community.

“We’re a hidden gem in Butler County because we have a great education and … there’s great morality here and I think we take out all the political stuff and just focus on the child and the education and we leave it all up to mom and dad at home.

“It’s like a time here, 20 years ago and what people thought the school was then, it’s here now because we really focus on the kids, we do interesting things with the kids. students and we keep politics out of the way,” Staggs said.