If Poland levy fails, ax will fall, chief says
POLAND
The superintendent of a school district with a 3.9-mill emergency operating levy on the ballot says if it fails, cuts would be immediate.
“If that levy goes down, I told the school board that all these things you’d like to have — new textbooks or new security cameras for the stadium or a dishwasher — aren’t possible. It’s not business as usual,” said Robert Zorn, superintendent of Poland Local Schools.
The five-year levy would cost the owner of a $100,000 house about 32 cents per day or about $117 annually. Voters approved a levy seven years ago that was intended to last through 2008 but has made it through this school year, Zorn said.
He cited the lack of state funding and inflation as reasons for the levy. The district received $5,590,681 from the state in 2009 — $388,185 less than the previous year. Poland’s average spending per pupil is $8,304, which is less than the Mahoning county average of $8,729.
Zorn said the district has cut back to manage the budget without a tax millage increase since 2003. The district has eliminated seven teaching positions in the last seven years.
Jim Lavorini, treasurer of the Citizens Committee for the Poland Schools, said all residents benefit from a strong school system.
“You want to have a strong school system especially as a homeowner,” he said. “It helps the value of property and you want to protect that. ...Even if you don’t have a kid in the system anymore, people who came before you helped the system, which will in turn help you by keeping property values up.”
Poland Seminary High School was named a blue ribbon school this year by the U.S. Department of Education and the Poland School District was designated “Excellent with Distinction” in its state academic report card.
Township residents will also see a 2-mill levy, which will replace a 2-mill levy passed in 1978 that is valued at 0.59144 mills, said fiscal officer Joseph Granitto.
The current levy generates $193,296 annually and the replacement will generate about $599,026. The township has lost about $250,000 in annual revenues because of the economic downturn that affected state funding, property taxes and collection fees, Granitto said.
“We are generating more than we’re replacing, but we don’t know the future,” he said. “We’ve been losing money more for four years and we’re not sure about the future.”