CANFIELD SCHOOLS Board to discuss levy, funds

School officials are worried about the effects of the new state budget.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CANFIELD -- The school board is set to discuss the future of a 6.9-mill levy that has produced $2.4 million in revenue for the schools each year since 1995.
If the board seeks to renew the five-year levy and voters agree, the levy would continue to produce $2.4 million annually and district residents shouldn't see their school taxes increase.
That's because the amount residents would pay would be based on the value of their homes in 1994, when the levy first passed. The levy is set to expire at the end of next year.
What new levy would do
A new levy would generate more than $2.4 million and residents would see their school taxes go up because the amount would be based on the value of their homes now.
A levy could appear on the ballot as early as November. The district has an annual budget of $20 million.
The school board is expected to discuss the levy's future at a meeting at 6 p.m. tonight.
Voters approved a 6.9-mill, five-year operating levy in November that produces about $3 million each year.
Superintendent Dante Zambrini said the board won't have a clear idea about the future of the district's finances until fall, when it gets its next payment of tax money. Zambrini said the board is concerned about how the district could be affected by the new state budget, which Gov. Bob Taft signed in late June.
He stressed, however, schools will not benefit from the increase in the state sales tax.
hill@vindy.com