REALLY?? I wonder why??
Levies a tough sell now
Sunday, October 19, 2008 3:31 AM
By Jim Woods
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
"The current economy is going through a correction period. I know you're all feeling that," Castle told the five women who gathered Wednesday.
Castle said he emphasizes to residents that the new levy won't be collected until January 2010, allowing time for the cloudy financial picture to clear. And, he said, the additional dollars the district is requesting -- the owner of a $100,000 home would pay $118 a year more in taxes -- are relatively few compared with what some other suburban districts are asking.
School boards filed their ballot issues in August with the economy already reeling from falling house values and gas prices hovering around $4 a gallon.
During the past few weeks, the stock market has wreaked havoc on 401(k) accounts amid fears of a recession. The Buckeye Association of School Administrators counts 250 school levies and bond issues on Nov. 4 ballots, including requests from Columbus and eight suburban school districts in Franklin County.
Reynoldsburg school board member Mary Burcham said the housing market might be at a standstill now, but it will rebound. Reynoldsburg seeks a 6.9-mill operating levy that would cost $211 more per year for the owner of a house valued at $100,000. Reynoldsburg has scheduled community meetings on the levy, including one Thursday at the VFW hall.
"If you want to make the economy better, you need better schools," Burcham said. "People are going to buy into the community if you have good schools. They are not going to buy if you don't have good schools."
In the Groveport Madison School District, levy chairman Larry Ricchi said the campaign has focused on the relatively small additional cost -- $6.64 a year for a home with a $100,000 value -- to continue improving the district's test scores. The three-year, 8.1-mill operating levy includes a renewal and a slight increase to raise $6.4 million a year.
Canal Winchester's school board and administrators had a town meeting Wednesday. Canal Winchester is making its fourth bid for an operating levy, which would cost $273 each year per $100,000 of home value.
One of the 15 residents who attended stalked out after telling the board that the school district "always wants more money but never makes its case for why."
But board member Chuck Miller said the district's voters have not approved additional operating money since 2001, although the district's enrollment increased by 55 percent.
The district had nearly 200 fewer students than it expected this fall, which will mean a loss of $1 million in state support, said Assistant School Superintendent Barb Harrison.
Harrison said she thinks that the economy was a factor because people withdrew from the district when they moved out of the area for jobs elsewhere.
Stacey Adkins, who attended the Canal Winchester town meeting, said that during her door-to-door campaign she talked to a single mother who said she would love to vote for the levy but can't afford to.
The board promises that it will restore busing for high-school students if the levy is approved. Melissa Chiles, a parent who is co-chairing the campaign, said some parents have calculated that the levy would be cheaper than the $25 a week they're paying to have their high-school student driven to school.
School board President John Kantner said there never is a good time to approach voters about a tax increase.
Levy votes traditionally have been close in the New Albany-Plain school district. Castle told the women in the living room that informing their friends could play an important role in the outcome.
Tricia Wolfe, a parent attending the New Albany meeting, said that some had misconceptions that the levy would be used for buildings.
"This is about our teachers and our kids," Wolfe said. "People need to get it."
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/10/19/tuffsell.ART_ART_10-19-08_B1_0IBKL75.html?sid=101
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Topic: Levies a tough sell now
