Letters urge residents to support 8.1-mill levy

The five-year levy is needed to stave off a deficit.
CHAMPION -- Two letters urging voter support for an 8.1-mill school levy will soon be mailed to residents in the Champion Local School District.
Co-chairmen Monty Horton and Perry Nicholas of the Levy Campaign Committee updated the school board on the campaign during the board's meeting Monday.
Horton noted that supporters can get lawn signs and pro-levy stickers at the high school and the superintendent's office.
Officials said the 8.1-mill levy is needed because the school district has operated the past four years without any increase in state funding. In addition, the district has lost $636,000 in state funding to charter schools and open enrollment in the past three years, they said.
The 8-mill levy would generate $1,305,648 a year for five years. Without it, officials have said, the district would face a budget deficit of $600,000 in June 2006. The last levy was passed in 1994.
Officials said that residents with questions can call the superintendent's office for more information.
In other business, the board presented plaques of appreciation to the Champion police and fire departments for their efforts on behalf of the schools. Police Chief Dennis Steinbeck and Fire Chief Lewis Austin accepted the plaques.