London Schools levy attempt headed to March ballot
By Jane Beathard
Staff Writer
Voters in the London City School District can again expect to see a property tax levy on the March 6, 2012 primary ballot, following action by the board of education on Thursday.
During a special 7:30 a.m. meeting, school board members unanimously approved a resolution of necessity for a levy to raise $2.5 million annually for the next five years.
Final determination of millage needed to raise those dollars will come from Madison County Auditor Jennifer Hunter. But, it is likely to equate to an additional 8.5 mills in property taxes, according to district treasurer Kristine Blind.
District voters turned down an 8.5-mill levy on Nov. 8, with “no” votes outnumbering “yes” votes by more than 22 percent.
The decision to move forward on March 6 came after about an hour’s debate as school board members weighed the pros and cons of targeting either of Ohio’s 2012 primary elections. The March 6 primary will determine partisan candidates for the U.S. Senate, Ohio General Assembly, county offices and judicial benches. A June 12 presidential primary will select delegates to the national nominating conventions and partisan candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives.
The school board is under pressure to meet a Dec. 7 filing deadline for the March election. However, Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted recommended on Nov. 10 that paperwork for either primary be filed by that date.
Board members Melissa Canney and Martha Geib, M.D., argued for the June presidential primary, saying levy supporters had a better chance of organizing a campaign and rallying voters by waiting until spring.
But other board members, including Curtis Brooks and Marv Homan, said skipping the March 6 primary would send a mixed message to district residents about the urgent need for additional revenue.
Superintendent Steve Allen said waiting until the June election would also demoralize district employees.
“It sends a negative message to staff if we don’t keep trying,” Allen observed.
Blind said delaying the issue until June would give board members time to weigh the merits of a “split” levy — meaning a smaller property tax coupled with an additional income tax to raise the needed $2.5 million.
Kat Marriott, a co-chairman of the Nov. 8 levy campaign, also spoke up on behalf of the March 6 date.
“If we need the levy, we need the levy…in order to stay out of state receivership,” she said.
Marriott indicated a willingness to again co-chair a levy campaign.
That effort must begin in early January, Geib said.
Next step in the filing process requires passage of a resolution to proceed with the levy. That will likely come at a special board meeting scheduled for 7:30 a.m. on Dec. 7 — just in time to meet the 4 p.m. filing deadline with the Madison County Board of Elections.
Mrs. F, clearly you are not informed. The state cut funding to all schools in Ohio and somehow expected schools to figure out how to make up the difference. Schools are locally funded through property taxes and in some cases income taxes also in Ohio. That is how it works. We have some of the lowest school taxes around in the area (we are currently funded through a combination of property and income tax and our school property tax is at 20 mills currently which is the lowest possible level). Our teachers have taken pay cuts and if we cut any more we will be at minimal teaching staff and maximum classroom sizes. That is not good for our kids or our community as a whole. LCS is attempting to live within their means but they need help from the community in an effort to continue to provide our kids an adequate education. I don’t understand why anyone would be outraged or upset with the schools for explaining why they need help from the community. You can vote no, but someone paid for your education and my education and when our district has done everything they can to explain why they need help from the community, it just makes sense to vote yes. If they can’t get a levy passed they are looking at state receivership which is not good for our district, our kids or our community. If you are ok with that, I am not and I will continue to rally our community to support our schools.
A BOE member disclosed at a recent meeting that only 25% of property owners actually have children attending the district schools. But I understand property tax is the only direct way to tax the community and derive the funding. I understand that if we don’t have a solid school district the by-product becomes the decline of a community.
I also note that the BOE announced 56% of third graders passed their proficiency testing for the year. So I am asked to almost double my property taxes to pay for kids that are not mine and only about half of them are passing very basic government required testing?
That is like your cable TV provider asking you to double your payment to see only 56% of the available channels while 25% of the subscribers get premium channels thanks to you.
Brion, they will continue to ask for money till it passes. LOL…you must be new here. They are hoping with a March election most people will forget to go to the polls. Same ol same ol every 3 months.
They also need to stay away from our property tax. We pay a school tax for a reason.
Mrs. G, you say….Pay a bit now, or pay a LOT of $$ later down the road. That’s our reality.
Our reality is that they will ask for money EVERY chance they can. It never stops. They need to learn to live within their means like we have had to.
You also said, over 50% of kids on free or reduced lunches. I’ve heard its closer to 80%. If parents of these kids can’t afford to pay for their own kids lunches WHY should I have to pay it and more. Get the parents of these kids to do THEIR part. So tired of people not doing their own part and asking others to take care of them. We already have a SCHOOL tax…. that should be enough!! Quit taxing us to death! I’ll vote NO every time and hope the majority of London does also.
I know for a fact the school district does understand that times are hard for people. With over 50% of kids on free or reduced lunches, they understand. As a citizen I am not mad at our district, but I AM outraged that the State of Ohio cut funding to our schools, thus FORCING them to ask the local community for support. Where is the outrage over the fact that it has been ruled unconstitutional for the State to fund our schools the way they do! This system of just cutting funding from schools in order to balance the STATE budget is insane. Our district IS cutting and slashing everywhere in order to stay out of state receivership. So, to live within their means the district has already cut 36 teachers/staff. The teachers, in an attempt to help the district, voluntarily gave a 3% reduction in pay for this school year, as well as deciding to pay more for their benefits.( I haven’t heard of any other district with teachers who have taken a voluntary pay cut, and I think that says a lot for our teaching staff!) Cuts for next year include cutting the last remaining teachers aide position not mandated by law, school administrators taking a $30,000 reducation, cutting all supplemental pay for all middle school extracurriculars, and also there will be 6-10 more teachers cut. After the cuts, we will have lost 25% of our teachers/staff in this district. The next round of cuts will have all high school honors and AP classes on the chopping block, as well as high school sports and extracurriculars. And something to think about, if the 2012 levy attempts fail, the district will be in a downward spiraling financial picture and will be FORCED to ask the voters for even higher millage amounts! Pay a bit now, or pay a LOT of $$ later down the road. That’s our reality. And who will buy your house if it’s for sale, or what business will locate here to create jobs if we have a struggling school district in state receivership? These are the actual realities this community faces if they don’t bite the bullet and support the district. I know that I do NOT want the State of Ohio to come in and run our district, and make decisions about my child’s education. The levy cost to the homeowner of a $100,000 home is $260 per year in additional taxes. That’s 71 cents per day. I guess I’m willing to do whatever it takes to save 71 cents a day, contribute to our district and keep the State of Ohio from running our schools in London.
As a citizen of London, I an outraged that the school district keeps asking for more money. They got voters to approve the SD payroll taxes a year ago and now they keep asking to raise our property taxes. Why is it that the school district seems to be the only entity that does not have to live within their means? I realize that times are hard. But they are hard on the taxpayers too! Don’t they understand that?