Lakeview schools levy to be on primary ballot

CORTLAND -- A new levy for Lakeview schools will be on the primary ballot in 2004, said district Treasurer Milt Williams.
Williams said at a special board of education meeting Monday that someone who owns property worth $100,000 would pay an additional $131.67 per year if the levy passes.
School board member Larry Swiger said the 4.3-mill levy is necessary to keep Lakeview schools running properly.
& quot;At this point and time this is really about the kids and what we have to do to take it [education] to the next level," Swiger said.
Swiger said a cash-flow problem caused Lakeview schools to be without its full teaching staff at various times in the past year, adding that it has also caused the board to cut some busing routes.
School officials attribute the cash-flow problem to $200,000 in state budget cuts and a $300,000 property tax left delinquency after Kmart declared bankruptcy.
The additional $1,445,245 that would be taken in by the school district from 2005 to 2010 as a result of the levy would help secure the jobs and health care of Lakeview's teaching staff, officials said.