Poland votes to rescind school levies

By Robert Guttersohn

rguttersohn@vindy.com

POLAND

The Poland Board of Education voted 4-0 to rescind both the renewal levy and the 4.9-mill emergency levy in August’s special election.

Board member Robert Shovlin abstained from both votes at Monday night’s board meeting.

Also at the meeting, athletic director, Brian Banfield, and band director, Nick Olesko, presented the board with ways their respective programs could save the district money on transportation costs.

Banfield proposed first cutting the swimming program. He claimed it would save the district $23,000 a year. He said, instead, the team would take on club status.

Second, he said combining transportation between sports would save the district $4,500 a year.

And the third proposal was a once-a-year activity fee for all athletes as opposed to paying per sport. Under his third proposal, high-school athletes would pay $150 per year while middle school students would pay $75 per year.

Banfield told board members that if they charge per sport, it could “cripple the sports program” because the high level of students in both the middle school and high school that play multiple sports may opt to play just one. He said 72 percent of Poland’s high school students and 68 percent of its middle-school students play multiple sports.

When board member Larry Dinopoulos asked what Banfield thought if the board voted for all three proposals, Banfield said he preferred cutting swimming and combining transportation over enacting all three.

Olesko also recommended an optional $25 transportation fee for band members. Students could choose whether to perform just at home or pay the fee and travel to the away games.