Voters should back school levy renewals in 13 Valley districts

Voters in 17 school districts in the Mahoning Valley, representing about one-third of all districts in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties, face urgent pleas for help now through Nov. 4.

Those pleas take the form of additional, renewal or income-tax levies to support school operations in rural, suburban and urban districts. They are among 164 tax questions for schools on the ballot statewide this fall.

Once again this election, The Vindicator encourages voters facing renewal levies to heed the pleas and vote yes, which will result in no new taxes for residents but financial and academic stability for cash-strapped districts. The overwhelming majority of this fall’s school issues in the Valley – 14 of 18 — seek no new revenues from taxpayers.

While we can understand that the lingering aftereffects of the Great Recession continue to give budgetary pause to many Mahoning Valley taxpayers, maintaining a status-quo investment in public schools demonstrates a commitment to the next generation and represents a solid investment in shoring up real-estate values throughout our community.

And, as we have said before, every school tax issue is placed on the ballot by elected members of a community’s school board. Voters elect people to their board of education expecting them to protect everyone’s best interest. They invest considerable time and energy in doing their jobs, and none of them returns lightly to the electorate with a request for passage of a tax levy. The dwindling percentage of additional tax levies on the ballot this fall illustrates a general unwillingness to reach deeper and deeper into the wallets of residents.

So unless voters have specific knowledge that trumps that of their elected representatives or are faced with personal circumstances that make it impossible to support a levy, voters ought to be willing to give the elected board the tools it needs to operate an effective school system.

DYSFUNCTION BURDENS TAXPAYERS

To be sure, Ohio’s dysfunctional system of financing public schools puts added strains on local property owners. Nationwide, the average support from state government to local schools is about 45 percent; in Ohio, state support accounts for only about 29 percent. Until state education leaders and legislators finally act to fix that and other dysfunction, Ohioans can ill afford to turn their backs on the state’s most precious human resource — its young people.

What’s more, state support for public schools has nose-dived in recent years at the same time that unfunded state mandates ranging from curriculum enhancements to technological and security upgrades have increased.

As Boardman Local Schools Superintendent Frank Lazzeri understandably laments, “The state requires certain things of schools, and they don’t give you the dollars to do them.” His district is one of many in the Valley that faces massive cuts if voters reject a renewal levy.

Fortunately, recent history indicates that a majority of voters understand the plight of Boardman and most districts in the state and have overwhelmingly approved renewal measures. In the Mahoning Valley last November, for example, 100 percent of all renewals won voter approval. We’re confident informed voters will keep that mark of excellence intact this fall.

Below is an alphabetical listing of those renewal levies in the Valley that we strongly urge voters to support in this general election:

Bloomfield-Mesopotamia Local Schools: 3.15-mill, five-year renewal to raise $170,000 annually.

Boardman Schools: A 3.9-mill, three-year renewal to raise $3.1 million annually.

Bristol Local Schools: 3.7-mill, three-year renewal to raise $330,000 annually and a 4.45-mill, five-year renewal to raise $400,000 annually.

Campbell Schools: A 14.4-mill, five-year renewal to raise $989,711 annually.

East Liverpool City Schools: A 6.5 mill, five-year renewal to raise $1.05 million.

Howland Schools: A 4.1-mill, 10-year renewal to raise $2.5 million annually.

Jackson-Milton Schools: A 1.8-mill, five-year renewal levy to raise $383,088 annually.

Mathews Schools: A 7.8-mill, five-year renewal to raise $1,153,525 annually.

Salem City Schools: A 6.7-mill, five-year renewal to raise $1.9 million annually.

Southern Local Schools: A 7.8-mill, five-year renewal levy.

Southington Schools: A 3.9-mill, four-year renewal to raise $250,000 annually.

Springfield Schools: A 1-percent, five-year income-tax renewal to raise $2.02 million annually.

Trumbull Career and Technical Center District: A 2.4-mill, 10-year renewal levy to raise about $6 million annually.

Meanwhile, voters in the South Range, Lordstown, Lakeview and McDonald school districts face requests for additional funding support. We urge residents of those districts to educate themselves thoroughly on the issues and then make informed decisions when casting their ballots.