SPRINGFIELD SCHOOLS Board: Levy renewal is way to raise funds

If the levy fails again, the district could face fiscal emergency.
By VIRGINIA ROSS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NEW MIDDLETOWN -- The Springfield School District has not abandoned the idea of opening its doors to pupils living outside the school district.
But school board members have decided that for now, they would rather concentrate on getting the income tax levy renewed in November.
The school board, at a meeting earlier this month, discussed the possibility of moving to open enrollment as a means of bringing money into the school district. But board members agreed that although open enrollment is a viable option they might consider within the next several years, for now they want to do what they can to encourage district residents to support the income tax levy.
Expires this year
The levy, which generates about $1 million annually for the school district, expires at the end of the year. It is a 1-percent tax on an individual's adjusted gross income.
But school board members and administrators have said they know persuading district residents to renew the levy might not be an easy task. The tax was voted down in the March primary.
"Many people were very surprised it wasn't passed in March," said Debra Mettee, schools superintendent. "And we were disappointed, because if it fails again, we could go into fiscal emergency."
That means the state would move in and take control of the school district if the district is unable to bring in more money. And that's why Springfield has been looking into open enrollment.
The state pays the school district roughly $5,000 a year for each pupil enrolled there. This year, Springfield was down 22 pupils from the 1,233 pupils enrolled throughout the district last year. And it doesn't look as if it's likely to improve in the near future.
In previous years, each grade averaged about 100 pupils. This coming fall, there will only be 75 kids enrolled in second grade, for example.
"We have people moving into the district because our taxes are so low," Mettee said. "But many of them don't have children. At least not yet. It makes it very difficult to continue operating with the numbers we have to look at."
Open enrollment
Springfield has explored open enrollment by meeting with representatives from the Lowellville School District, where one-third of the pupils attend that school district as a result of open enrollment.
"Those students, if they weren't attending Lowellville, would be going to Youngstown schools," primarily Coitsville Township, Mettee said. "That has worked out for Lowellville, but we're not really sure how that would work for us, because of where we're located. But it is something we can look into later on, maybe in the next few years. But now, we just need to really stress the importance of this levy and how important it is to the district and to our students."