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South Range Schools begin process for May 5 levy
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Dunham
By ROBERT CONNELLY
NORTH LIMA
South Range School District is moving forward with a levy for the May 5 ballot, but with different parameters than the levy that failed in November.
The board of education Monday approved a resolution of necessity for a levy to generate revenue for the schools, the first step to getting the tax issue before voters for the spring primary election.
The new tax issue is a three-year, 4.9-mill levy that would generate $931,838 annually. That is different from the 10-year, 3.9-mill operating levy that failed in November and which would have generated $707,500 annually. The district’s 2013 failed levy was for 4.8 mills.
Superintendent Dennis Dunham said if the levy does pass for three years, the district would have to go back to voters for a renewal.
“Sometimes 10 years seems like it’s a long time in between elections or votes. ... Three years kind of makes people look and see how things are going” and vote on how they think the money is being used, Dunham said.
During the fiscal recovery report, he explained the options that are on the table for the district that is projecting a deficit in fiscal year 2017. Fiscal year 2017 starts July 1, 2016 and ends June 30, 2017. The Vindicator reported before the November election the district was projecting a deficit of $707,670 in fiscal year 2017, with that number multiplying from there.
“The hole that we are digging, it is getting deeper by each calendar year,” said Jim Phillips, district fiscal officer.
Dunham also said, “For the last number of years, we’ve looked at deficits in really short-range forecasts and have been able to avoid them because you have to.”
The discussed options on the table — which no action has been taken — presented by Dunham included: continuing open enrollment and the transportation/activity fee; a new levy; a reduction in force — 2 to 3.5 full-time certificated employees and three to five part-time classified employees; reducing or eliminating extracurricular activities; continuing the re-hiring of retired employees who are eligible; and reducing materials and supplies and purchased services.
A parent in the audience asked why a student would come to a district that is cutting programs.
“It’s a Catch-22 [situation],” Phillips answered. “You can’t finance a school district with cuts.”
Thomas McCabe, deputy director of the Mahoning County Board of Elections, was present at the meeting and said only Struthers and Youngstown have regular May primary elections, meaning South Range would have to pay to have a levy put on as a special election issue. He estimated it will cost the district between $10,000 and $12,000. That is paid out of property taxes the school district collects.
Ralph Wince was chosen as president of the school board during the organizational meeting. Concerning his goals as board president, Wince said, “Maintain everything we can and hopefully with a difficult financial condition that we’re in that we can minimize the effects on students because ... your main focus is how you can best help the students of the school district.”