Renewal levy facing Highland voters
By Mike D’Agruma
GRANGER — Voters living in the Highland Local Schools District will see Issue No. 17, a 10-year, 7.9-mill renewal levy on the Nov. 6 General Election ballot.
The levy, which was originally passed by voters in 1998, would collect $3.56 million annually. It currently costs the owner of a $100,000 home about $179 in property taxes, according to the Medina County Auditor’s Office. Auditor officials also stated that rate would stay consistent should the levy pass. Superintendent Bruce Armstrong said the renewal would begin collecting January 2009, if passed by voters.
The levy would continue the revenue
stream voters passed for Highland Local Schools as a
7.9-mill incremental levy. According to Auditor’s
Office officials, that levy is currently being collected
at 5.68 mills. Armstrong said that in accordance with
Ohio House Bill 920, as property value in the district
appreciates, the actual millage rate the levy collects
at rolls back. Therefore, though the levy is listed
as 7.9 mills, it wouldn’t actually collect at
that rate, but its current 5.68. That total could continue
to decrease if property values in the district continue
to increase, Armstrong said.
Residents should not confuse
the levy with the May approval of the increase in Medina
County’s sales and use tax, which increased the
sales tax from 6 percent to 6.5 percent. Revenue generated
from the 30-year increase, which went into effect Oct.
1, will be divided among school districts in the county
on a per pupil basis. The money will be used for permanent
improvements and may not be used for operating expenses
or salaries.
At the Aug. 20 Highland Local
Schools Board of Eduation meeting, when members agreed
to place the levy on the ballot, member Robert Kelly
said the district is required to keep the language of
the levy consistent with what was passed in 1998, hence
the reason the levy is listed at 7.9 mills.
“But most importantly,
no new taxes,” Kelly said.
“You want to say it one
more time?” asked Board President
Nancy Wingenbach at the meeting.
“No new taxes,” Kelly
said.
Armstrong said the income generated
from the levy represents 17 percent of the district’s
total tax revenue and revenue is used to maintain current
services. According to district Treasurer Mary Markle,
the money generated from this levy is used for operating
expenses, which she said “is pretty much everything.”
“You name it,” Markle
said. “Whatever we use in the operating budget,
we use [those levy funds].”
According to district officials,
the Highland district stands to lose about $3.5 million
from the school district’s operating budget if
the levy fails. Armstrong said with such a large portion
of funding at stake, cuts would need to be made if the
levy is rejected.
“I think anybody who is
living in this day and age understands that a business
as large as this one cannot
operate with a cut of 17 percent and maintain the same
level of services and quality,” he said.
To find out what district residents
felt about that level of service and quality, the board
recently conducted and released the results of the 2007
Highland Community Survey. According to survey results,
residents not only felt Highland was a well-run school
district, but that maintaining its services was crucial.
Conducted by the Communication Research Center at Cleveland
State University, part of the survey had participants
rank the district in 11 different categories on a scale
of 0-10, with 10 being “excellent.” On average,
the district received a score of 8.1, with the high
mark being an 8.8 for academic performance and the low
mark a 7.0 for school finance management. Overall, survey
takers rated the school system an 8.4. Using
the same scale, a second set of
five statements asked residents to rate the integrity,
competence and trustworthiness of the district’s
school leaders. On average, the administration scored
an 8.0.
Other areas of the survey also
showed residents were satisfied with their school district.
Close to 28 percent of responders said the district
didn’t need to make any improvements in any key
areas, while 30.2 percent said they were unsure what
changes, if any, needed to be made. Only 4.9 percent
indicated improvements needed to be made in the area
of money management.
In addition, though support for
taxes was moderate, 53.9 percent of residents said they
would support additional property taxes to maintain
services. And while Issue No. 17 won’t require
residents to pay any additional taxes, 75 percent of
responders agreed the school district would need additional
funding in the future to
maintain services.
According to district officials,
the study was partly conducted to identify what voters
value in the school district, whether they were satisfied
or seek change and what their opinions were on school
funding issues. It also identified what district officials
refer to as the “Highland Challenge,” which
is “to make sure taxpayers know that any proposed
levy will be used to maintain Highland’s current
level of excellence.”
Community survey results are
available online at www.
highlandschools.org.
Residents with questions about
the renewal or the survey may call Armstrong’s
office at (330) 239-1901.
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