COLUMBIANA School levy OK'd for May ballot

The board is seeking a new member.
COLUMBIANA -- The Columbiana school board approved placement of a five-year, 1.6-mill permanent improvement replacement levy on the May 7 primary ballot.
The resolution passed by the board at a special meeting Monday states the replacement levy would generate about $210,000 annually and generates about $120,000 now. The current levy expires in December.
Superintendent Patricia Hura said the district needs new school buses and South Side Middle School and Joshua Dixon Elementary need extensive roof repairs.
The permanent improvement levy funds cannot be used for employee salaries or benefits, she emphasized.
The levy was first passed in 1987 and renewed three times.
Defeated in February: The replacement levy was on the special election ballot Feb. 5, and just 653 of more than 4,000 voters in the school district went to the polls. The levy fell 389-262. Board members have said they need volunteers to assist them in doing a better job of promoting the need for the levy.
The board also accepted the resignation of board member David Dale. Dale, in his second term on the board, is pastor of the Columbiana Tabernacle Assembly of God.
Hura said Dale has accepted another pastorate and will be leaving the community in March. She said the board is accepting letters of interest, which can be mailed to the district central office or dropped off at the office located in the high school building.