JACKSON-MILTON SCHOOLS Group puts out word on levy

Wheelchair lifts are slated for the new middle school/high school building.
By SEAN BARRON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NORTH JACKSON -- Eric Whitmer is grateful for the time and effort that a group of area residents has given toward getting a renewal levy approved in August.
Whitmer, an on-site director for the Columbiana County Educational Opportunity Center in Lisbon, also is co-chairman of R Kids First, a grass-roots group of about 36 people that formed a few weeks ago to get the word out about a five-year, 2.7-mill renewal levy that will be on the Aug. 3 special election ballot.
The group is mainly Jackson-Milton pupils' parents and grandparents, but includes other residents, he said.
Whitmer outlined some of R Kids First's plans at Thursday's school board meeting. He said that he, fellow co-chairman Jeffrey Tharp, and others in the group plan to target those who failed to vote in March's primary election.
They also plan to encourage others to register to "make their vote count," focus on absentee voters -- the last Jackson-Milton renewal levy lost by one vote -- and perform research to find out about voting trends in the community.
"One of our goals is to get all those 'yes' voters out to do it again," Whitmer said.
Special election
He stressed that it's important to reach out to voters because the levy will be on the ballot in August instead of November, when people are more likely to go to the polls. Also, many people are on vacation in August, he added.
Whitmer noted that this renewal levy will not raise residents' taxes and that it will help maintain many district programs already in place.
Whitmer said that R Kids First has formed elementary, middle school and high school subcommittees, and he praised Amanda Purnell, a Jackson-Milton High School senior, for overseeing and coordinating efforts to remind residents of the levy's importance. The three subcommittees are making fliers for school-related activities and events to remind people to vote for the renewal levy, Whitmer said.
He added that he is pleased with fund-raising efforts on behalf of R Kids First and expects the group to grow during the summer. The group's next meeting is slated for 2 p.m. Sunday at the high school and is open to the public.
Other matters
In other business, Superintendent Buck Palmer announced that the board passed a resolution allowing the district to spend about $175,000 this summer to install a three-story elevator and two platform wheelchair lifts in the new middle school/high school building.
Palmer said Kreidler Construction Co. of Poland should begin work on the projects next week and predicted that the new facility would be wheelchair-accessible by September.
Palmer also mentioned that the state has sent back data outlining some results of proficiency tests given in March. About 85 percent of third-graders in the district are advanced, accelerated or proficient in reading, he said. In grade 10, about 76 percent are in those three categories in reading and 84 percent are proficient or above in math, Palmer noted.