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Lakeview, Lordstown issues fail; Howland passes
By Joe Gorman
WARREN
School levies in Trumbull County got a mixed bag of results Tuesday.
Unofficial numbers from the Trumbull County Board of Elections show a bond issue for Lakeview schools and an additional levy for Lordstown failing, but voters in Howland did renew a levy in their district.
In the Lakeview school district, voters were asked to approve a $23.8 million bond issue to go toward construction of a new pre-K through eighth-grade building. The state would pick up the rest of the $33 million tab.
The measure failed in a close vote, with 51.12 percent voting no, according to unofficial results.
School board member Mary Williams said the numbers show that there are a lot of people in the district who are ready to talk about building new facilities, because of the close vote and the fact the issue was on the ballot for the first time.
Superintendent Bob Wilson and Williams both said they were thankful for the work bond-issue supporters did to educate voters on the project. Wilson said it was his goal to give voters all the information so they could make a decision.
Wilson said he was not sure if the issue would be on the ballot again. He said he needed to discuss that with the board first. He said the district has only a year to pass the issue to be eligible to receive the additional money from the state.
The new building would replace the aging 87-year-old Lakeview Elementary School and the middle school, which was built in 1978. Both buildings have fared poorly when evaluated by the Ohio Schools Facilities Commission.
The bond issue would also cover upgrades to the district’s athletics facilities to bring them up to standards required by the Americans With Disabilities Act.
In Lordstown, the district asked voters to approve its first new millage since 2001 with a 5.5-mill additional levy that would generate $540,000 a year. The measure failed with 58.12 percent of voters.
The district has no permanent improvement levy and has said it needs the money for necessities, such as repairs to its cooling unit it recently had to finance through its general fund.
Also, the district has only three administrators and employees have not had a raise in six years.
In Howland, voters approved for the fifth time a renewal of a 4.1-mill levy that will bring in $2.5 million over 10 years. The levy represents 9 percent of the district’s budget.
The levy passed with 58.35 percent of the vote.