SALEM SCHOOLS Officials say emergency levy is needed
Should the levy fail, voters probably will see it again in the primary election.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
SALEM -- Voters are being asked to go to bat for the struggling city school district by passing a 7.85-mill, five-year emergency levy that would raise about $2.3 million annually.
Officials say the levy is needed to keep the district from plunging into the red in 2004.
The district is confronted with an estimated $800,000 deficit next year.
That figure could balloon to millions of dollars in ensuing years if more revenue isn't received and if spending cuts aren't implemented, schools Treasurer Alice Gunning has said.
District officials are reviewing programs, personnel and general operations to determine what might be trimmed to reduce costs, Superintendent Dr. David Brobeck said without elaborating.
The looming deficit is the result of rising costs, most notably in employee health insurance, and overly optimistic revenue predictions made in the last few years, Gunning has said.
The levy will cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $250 annually, Brobeck said.
That amount, on the same home, will be reduced by about $43 annually when a 1.3-mill levy comes off the books in January, Brobeck said.
Should the levy fail, it probably will be put back on the ballot in the 2004 primary election, Brobeck said.
District controversies
Money isn't the only problem besetting the school district. The following items have made or are continuing to make news:
UThe district's treasurer's office is the subject of a criminal investigation stemming from the tenure of former treasurer Ted Cougras.
UContracts with unions representing teachers and nonteaching employees have expired, and talks are at an impasse.
UA former high school principal has been convicted of theft in office.
UA state audit noted that an elementary school principal had improperly used school funds to purchase items for his church. The money was later repaid.
UA former teacher is suing the district in federal court, alleging age and race discrimination.
Brobeck has acknowledged that the events may give some voters pause.
But he insisted that the district is doing all it can to correct any deficiencies and to restore public confidence.