In the Jefferson Township Local School District, families and students will encounter some changes this week as the new school year begins.
The district will welcome about 250 students and new leadership, Superintendent Ronda Welch.
"I'm a graduate K-12 of this district," Welch said. "I'm coming back home."
Since coming home, Welch made several personnel cuts, eliminating her executive assistant, the principals for Blairwood Elementary and for the Junior/Senior High School, the custodial supervisor, and the in-house food service team.
Welch said changes were necessary because the district has dwindling funds. During the 2025-2026 school year, the district's revenue was around $6.8 million. It's expenditures were $7.9 million, resulting in a deficit of between $1.3 million to $1.4 million.
In addition, Welch said the district was out of state compliance.
"Not understanding the process of serve versus offer, not understanding the process of counting the meals properly, making sure the kids were getting the proper amount of servings," Welch said, regarding food service. "I talked to a sheriff and was informed we have not done fire drills and tornado drills, evaluations are not being completed. It's also making sure that staff are being professionally developed and that was not consistently happening either."
According to Welch, new procedures of accountability are in place, new principals have been hired along with several new teachers and the district is contracting with an outside group to provide hot meals for students.
Four times since May 2024, voters rejected levies that would have generated millions of dollars for daily expenses.
- May 2024 and May 2025: Voters rejected a 1.5% earned income tax levy. It would have annually generated about $1.4 million annually.
- November 4, 2025: Voters turned down a 1% earned income tax levy. Annually it would have raised $1 million for three years to avoid a state takeover.
- May 5, 2026: Voters rejected a 1.25% earned income tax levy. This measure would have annually brought in $1.12 million for daily operations.
The administration also noted one of the district's big challenges is creating transportation options for students. It will only transport according to the state minimum: students in grades K-8 who live two miles or more from school. If a family has a child in seventh grade and another child in ninth grade, the district can only transport the seventh grader even though both youth attend classes in the same building.
"I've thought about ideas of hubs. different places where we could have parents to gather, we can come through to pick your child up, and then come in," Welch said.
