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Poland to try in August if levies go down
By Karl Henkel
POLAND
Like it or not, the Poland school levies aren’t going away anytime soon.
The school board voted 4-1 Monday night to place the current emergency and renewal levies on a special ballot Aug. 2 if voters don’t approve them May 3.
The district is two weeks away from learning the fate of a 4.9-mill, five-year, $1.875 million emergency levy and a 3.6-mill, five-year, $1.369 million renewal levy. The emergency levy would cost a district homeowner of a $100,000 home about $150 a year.
Board member Robert Shovlin, who has vehemently opposed the 4.9-mill levy (voters previously voted down a 3.9-mill levy in November), once again disagreed with the decision to add the emergency levy to the ballot. He also disagreed with the renewal levy, particularly because of the cost of having a special election.
“November is only a few months away,” Shovlin said.
Superintendent Robert Zorn said election costs are allotted for in the district’s budget.
Paul McFadden, chairman of the Citizens Committee for Poland Schools, said he’s seen an overwhelming response in support of the levy. During the public comment session, he said the committee had originally allotted for 700 levy yard signs but has since received requests for 150 more.
The board discussed, but did not vote on, a measure to implement pay-to-pay athletics. Costs debated were $75 per athlete and a maximum $100 per family, per year.
In other business, Treasurer Donald Stanovcak responded to an article on Sunday’s Vindicator, which detailed Poland’s noncompliance with a records request.
He said the requested information — a “five-year total compensation history of every employee, including to but not limited to the annual salary amount” — was not available in Excel format.
“There’s no need for it,” he said. “It serves no purpose for a treasurer.”
The Vindicator’s request did not specifically ask for the data in Excel format.
Poland has not yet provided The Vindicator with four years of salary information; it faxed figures for the 2010-11 school year last week. They are available on the Government Watch page on vindy.com.