Poland school levy is rejected

Levies in the Boardman and Jackson-Milton school districts failed, while Canfield's was approved.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
Poland Board of Education is expected to hold a special meeting Monday to declare a fiscal emergency.
The Ohio Department of Education requires school officials to declare a fiscal emergency when their district goes into debt. School officials in Poland expect the district to be in debt by $226,113 by the end of this school year.
State officials will work with the school board to cut the district's budget and raise additional funds until the district is no longer in debt and the fiscal emergency has ended. Superintendent Dr. Robert Zorn said he expected the state to recommend that the board seek additional funds from the community through an operating levy.
A request for a five-year, 3.9-mill additional operating levy for the schools failed by an unofficial total of 54 votes in Tuesday's election. It would have raised about $2.1 million each year for the district.
The levy request also failed by five votes in the May election. Zorn said he expects any future levy requests to be for a greater millage, as the district will need more money to pay off its growing debt.
Without additional money, the district is expected to be in debt by $8.4 million by the end of the 2006-07 school year.
Boardman, J-M
Requests for an additional school operating levy in Boardman and two levy renewals in the Jackson-Milton district also failed Tuesday, while Canfield's additional school operating levy request was approved.
Jackson-Milton Superintendent Buck Palmer said he is shocked and disappointed by the outcome, but "unwavering" in his determination to get the necessary funding for the district. He said the issue will likely be on the ballot in the primary election next year.
"There are a lot of good things going on here that many people are not aware of," he said. "Our report card scores will have gone up over 25 percent this year. Things are going in a positive direction and we will not let this derail us," Palmer said.
Voters in Poland approved a 1-mill, 5-year renewal levy for their schools on Tuesday. Renewal levies for the Mahoning County Children's Service Board and the county's tuberculosis program were approved.
Zorn said he thinks the board also will discuss possible budget cuts on Tuesday. He said the board didn't consider the cuts in the past because, "we tried to stay positive."
Canfield schools
In Canfield, school officials had discussed cutting some busing and charging students for participating in sports and after-school activities if their levy had failed. The levy passed by an unofficial total of 388 votes. It will produce about $3 million per year beginning next year.
Superintendent Dante Zambrini stressed that the board "will not be luxurious" with the additional money.
"We will move ahead on a very cautious, conservative route," he said.
Yet that doesn't mean that the district has all the money it will need for the next several years. School officials still expect to be in debt by $549,695 by the end of the 2005-2006 school year.
Zorn and Zambrini have said they feel the state needs to reform its school funding system so that their districts don't have to keep asking voters for more money. The state provides less funding for wealthy districts like Canfield, Boardman and Poland because it feels residents of those districts can afford to pay more for education.
"The mood of the public is no new taxes," Zorn said. "The state of Ohio seems to be aware of that, but they don't want to change" the funding system.
Boardman's future
Boardman Superintendent Don Dailey did not want to make any predictions about his district's future until sitting down with the board of education, but said the vote shows the financial reality of the area.
"We will have to regroup and take a look at our situation," he said. "This is more of a reflection on our economic times than on feelings about the school district."
The district's five-year, 5.9-mill request failed by an unofficial total of 370 votes. Dailey said the district can still avoid going into debt by having a levy approved in the primary or general elections next year, but said it is uncertain if that is what officials will do.
Without additional revenue, the district is expected to be in debt by $1.1 million by the end of the 2003-2004 school year.
Dailey has said without the levy approval, cuts would likely be made in some school programs. He said the board will have to review all programs not mandated by the state to determine what can be done to save money.
hill@vindy.com