Plans for raising money begin

By SHELBY SCHROEDER

Austintown residents are looking for support of a 4.9-mill levy.

AUSTINTOWN — Cuts in school funding have Austintown residents looking for ways to pass a levy that would allow the district to break even next year.

More than a dozen township parents, teachers and members of the school administration met at Austintown Middle School on Thursday to begin planning for a fundraising campaign to promote the passage of a 4.9-mill levy in November.

Led by Austintown resident Joe Caruso, the Austintown Levy Campaign Committee’s first objective was to clarify one thing: If passed, money from the levy would compensate for the loss of around $3.5 million in state funding. The district also faces recent personal property tax losses.

The levy would not create a surplus, Caruso said.

About $500,000 from the levy would be earmarked for capital improvements for the next five years.

According to the Ohio Department of Education, Austintown spends around $4,071 per pupil. Without levy passage, resources for pupils would fall near to the level of those given to Youngstown pupils — about $3,301.

Austintown resident and volunteer Alex Benyo is supporting the levy, he said, adding: “The only thing separating us from Youngstown is our schools.” Youngstown schools are in “academic watch” by the state; Austintown is rated “effective.”

To combat “No” votes in November, Caruso said the committee must focus on promoting Austintown schools’ “bragging rights” to other residents. Volunteers should explain their achievements would not continue to accumulate without adequate funding, he said.

“We need a nice consistent message about what we do for the district and what we plan for the future,” Caruso said.

The committee will begin fundraising with the message to the community of highly rated schools, a 99 percent graduation rate, and the benefits of well-educated children.

Doug Heuer, Austintown superintendent, attended the meeting as a supporter of the levy. He said the state has been only “partially good” in making up for the money it cut last year, leaving a significant gap in funding.

Heuer estimated the owner of a home appraised at $100,000 would see an increase in taxes of about $150 per year.

The group brainstormed means of targeting voters, including proposals for several rounds of mailings, door-to-door canvassing, yard signs, and television and newspaper ads. Still, few plans were set in stone, and some volunteers, like Caruso, voiced disappointment at the low turnout of volunteers.

Along with adding volunteers, the committee hopes to raise as much as $20,000 to gain levy support over the next three weeks. That’s in addition to around $8,000 on hand from a prior fundraising campaign, said Benyo.

Committee members suggested school open houses, sporting events and PTA meetings to promote the levy.

Caruso said without money from the state, it is the volunteers’ duty to educate residents on why the levy should be passed. “It comes back to people taking care of themselves and communities taking care of themselves,” he said.

sschroeder@vindy.com