[ back ]
Divided school board sends levy to ballot
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - February 03, 2011)
Divided school board sends levy to ballot
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
The Chardon schools will return to the May ballot with a levy request that is similar to the one voters defeated last November.
The Chardon Board of Education voted 3-2 last week to place a $2.85 million, five-year operating levy on the May ballot. The $2.85 million in annual revenues will translate into an approximately 4.29-mill levy, the amount voters decidedly turned down in November.
The board also considered continuing levies for 2.5 mills and 2 mills, before going with the recommendation of Superintendent Joseph Bergant II and district Treasurer Stephanie Swain.
Although some parents in attendance urged the board to unanimously support the levy attempt, board members Blake Rear and Paul Stefanko said they could not.
Mr. Stefanko said the "big elephant in the room" remains the state of the economy. He said, for the first time in 22 years, district residents' income has dropped, and they remain the funding source for the district. "If you ignore the economy, you will fail the levy," he said.
Mr. Stefanko said, while the Chardon teachers' salaries are just below the state average, there are other costs associated with employees. He said West Geauga teachers are slightly higher paid but also pay 20 percent of their health-care costs. Chardon teachers pay less than 7 percent of their health-care costs, and the district absorbs any hikes in those costs entirely, he said. A 15 percent rise in health-care costs is paid by the district, not the teachers, he said.
Mr. Stefanko said he could not support a levy at this time, because too many factors remain unknown. He said the state may cut funding 10 percent to 22 percent, and the board is about to begin negotiations with teachers. Until those factors can be decided, the district should delay a levy attempt, he said. "We are doing the public and our employees a disservice to go in May."
Mr. Rear agreed, saying he believes the 4.29 mills would fall short of what the district actually needs. "We first need to know what we're working with and what people are saying in the survey," he said.
He said the survey showed what he has been saying -- nothing has changed since voters rejected a levy in November. He called it a "depressing" situation. "It's not the proper thing for Chardon at this time."
Some parents also urged the board to wait until November so they can mount a campaign for its successful passage.
Board member Cindy Sague said she and two of her children graduated from Chardon Schools and every child deserves those same opportunities. She said she believed the administration's recommendation to go in May, rather than wait until November.
"I do think three months is enough time to get the word out," she said. "We really need to put this on the ballot now."
Board President Debbie Seenarine Wilson said it is parents who are behind successful levies, because they are the ones immediately affected by changes in the schools. "Absolutely, I do believe we need a levy," she said.
Mr. Bergant said he would hate "to put all our eggs in one basket" and rely on a November levy attempt. He said he fears many of the energized parents would lose their momentum over the summer months.
Even if voters approve a levy in November, he said, the district will be without additional monies coming in for two years, putting the district further behind.
The district already is planning an additional $1.2 million in February. He said those teachers who will be let go may be reinstated next year if the levy passes, unless state cuts are deeper than expected.
Board member Larry Reiter said it's not that the district does not know how to pass a levy. He said the district has always known that, without parent support, the levy would have a hard time passing. He encouraged parents to take up the cause and help the board pass the levy.
[ back ]
