NORTH JACKSON School levy to be on Feb. ballot

Open enrollment is costing the district, the treasurer said.
NORTH JACKSON -- Residents of the Jackson-Milton Local School District will have another chance to consider two renewal levies that were defeated during the Nov. 5 election.
The levies will appear on a special election ballot Feb. 4, school officials announced at Monday's board meeting.
A 7.3-mill emergency renewal levy, slated to bring in $988,485 a year to the district, would go toward general operating expenses, Treasurer John Zinger said.
Also, a 0.9-mill permanent improvement levy should generate about $75,329 per year and would be used for new textbooks, computers and other items expected to last five years or more, Zinger pointed out.
The emergency levy figures are included in the district's five-year financial forecast, Zinger stressed. He estimated that if the emergency renewal levy is defeated in February and thereafter, the district could be close to $4 million in debt by the 2007-2008 school year.
Open enrollment also has contributed to money's leaving the district, board members pointed out. The process allows districts to gain and lose pupils to a neighboring or other district, Zinger said.
This year, 60 pupils in grades seven through 12 have left Jackson-Milton schools to take online courses, as well as to attend school in the Newton Falls, Western Reserve and other school districts, costing Jackson-Milton about $5,200 per pupil in lost revenue, Zinger said.