HUBBARD School officials plan to seek 2 levies Nov. 6

The superintendent is already looking at areas to cut if the levies don't pass.
HUBBARD -- Hubbard school officials declared, for the second time, their intent to place a renewal levy and an additional emergency levy on the Nov. 6, 2001, ballot.
The 6.4-mill renewal levy would raise $1,218,709 per year for five years. It is a renewal of a 6.4-mill emergency levy first passed in 1996. It expires in 2002 and, if passed, would not increase collected tax.
The 5.5-mill emergency levy would raise $1,047,214 per year for five years. Last May, Hubbard voters did not pass a similar emergency levy for 9.9 mills.
Phil Butto, treasurer, had predicted a deficit of nearly half a million dollars by 2003.
Forecast could change: He said that while the school board is not finished with negotiations, some critical numbers for the past fiscal year are not yet available and the official five-year forecast could change within the next two weeks.
The last actual figures available are for fiscal year 2000. The 2000 total revenue and monies from other financing sources was $14,077,178. Total expenditures were $13,828,564.
Superintendent Jim Herrholtz said if neither levy passes and the district exhausts all other options, the state could come in to take over operations as early as next year.
Possible cutbacks: Places that Herrholtz said he would look to cut to prevent a takeover include the Hubbard Community Pool. Although swimming is on the curriculum, Herrholtz said it costs the school board about $300,000 yearly to operate and incurs a deficit of about $138,000.
He said an additional way to cut expenses is to establish play-for-pay sports, a system where parents pay all costs for a sport.
Busing is a third area that could need reassessment, he said. More than half the buses are models made before 1988.
Parents' questions: Parents attending the special meeting Monday wanted to know why the board is canceling one particular school bus service. For the past seven years, parents who work early could drop their children off at Thumbs Up for Kids day-care center on their way to work. A bus would then transfer the students to Roosevelt Elementary School and St. Patrick School at the proper time. The school bus would also deliver students after school to the day-care center.
This service, however, is being canceled.
Herrholtz said several factors led to a decision to stop busing the 15 students. & quot;Ohio Administrative Code ... says that because this is not an officially designated school bus stop, we were putting the district at some liability. If there should have been some mishap, for example, if there would have been a missing kid or something like that, we were putting the district at liability."
Judy Montgomery, board president, said the school board would take the parents' requests under advisement and have Herrholtz get back to them.