Monday, January 26, 2004
The levy discussion could take place Wednesday.
MINERAL RIDGE -- Weathersfield Schools Superintendent Rocco Adduci said he has been talking to board members about placing a levy on the August special election ballot.
He added that three out of five board members are indicating they are in favor of it.
The superintendent said Thursday the amount the board is considering is around 5.5 mills.
The levy will be discussed during the board's meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the high school, Adduci said, depending on how many residents show up and what other issues residents want to discuss.
The board will have to pay the cost of placing the levy on the ballot unless another local issue appears on the ballot so the costs could be shared.
Previous tries
This would be the third time district officials have tried to pass a tax issue to raise operating funds.
The cost of placing a 1-mill income tax levy on the May 2003 ballot was $6,000, a bill that was paid by RMI Titanium, which had a personal property-tax income reduction in October 2002 that took away $620,000 from the district.
The 1-mill income tax issue, which would have raised $860,000 annually, was defeated. A request on the November ballot for a 9.6-mill levy to generate $919,360 annually also failed.
Although numerous cuts already have been made, the board promised it would have to cut busing to all but kindergarten through eighth-graders living outside 2 miles from school if the November levy failed. The busing cuts took effect Jan. 5 and have sparked many protests from district residents.