Education remains the key to region's economic future

It's no accident that virtually every candidate running in this year's election, be it for national, state or local office, names education as one of the top priorities. That's because in the global economy, it isn't enough to work with your hands. The jobs being created demand more than just basic reading, writing and arithmetic skills.
Against that backdrop, it is puzzling that voter support for school levies is so tenuous. Do property tax payers not realize that an educated workforce is an economic development necessity? Do they not understand that without a solid academic foundation high school graduates will have an extremely difficult time competing in the higher education arena?
A good education is no longer a luxury, which is why we have traditionally taken a position of supporting school levies. We could easily join the chorus of naysayers and talk about supposed waste in school districts, but we have yet to see solid evidence that the money generated by local property taxes is being squandered by school boards, superintendents, principals and teachers.
That is why we once again urge voters in those schools districts that have new levies or renewals on the Nov. 5 general election ballot to strike a blow for this region's future.
In Mahoning County, three school districts are asking their residents to approve relatively small property tax increases, but what is really intriguing about them is that they are among the top systems in the region. Canfield is seeking a 6.9-mill, five-year levy that would produce about $3 million starting next year for day-to-day expenses. Boardman is asking voters to approve a 5.9-mill, five-year levy to generate $5.01 million a year for day-to-day expenses. Poland is pitching a 3.9-mill levy, five-year levy to raise $2.1 million annually for emergency needs.
Yes, Canfield, Boardman and Poland are facing a bleak future if the voters of those school districts fail to recognize a truism in Ohio today: State funding for kindergarten through high school is not calculated on the basis of academic success. If it were, these three districts would be among the leading recipients of state dollars because they are in the upper echelon academically. Instead, what the state uses is a math formula that, in a nutshell, penalizes those districts that have higher property values.
Thus, Canfield, Boardman and Poland, which are considered wealthy, are now being forced to find new sources of revenue because the amount of money they are receiving from the state is being reduced, while their expenses are rising.
Unconstitutional
Voters who are angry about this would do well to direct that anger at Columbus and all three branches of state government. They have dropped the school funding ball. While the Ohio Supreme Court has found that Ohio's system of funding public primary and secondary schools through local property tax levies is unconstitutional in it does not guarantee a thorough and efficient education for all children, the justices cannot agree on how the General Assembly should remedy the problem.
Meanwhile, school districts, especially those considered well-off because of their property valuations, are being squeezed dry. That is why the levy increases this year in Canfield, Boardman and Poland are so important. Taxpayers are being asked to make a small sacrifice for major gains -- continued academic excellence and extracurricular activities that give students a well-rounded education.
We urge support for these three superior school systems.
Likewise, we strongly support the levy renewals in the Jackson-Milton district and in Poland.