November levy re-try 'extremely unlikely,' South Range super says

NORTH LIMA

Residents in Beaver and Green townships will most likely not see a South Range levy in November.

“It will be extremely unlikely that we attempt a November levy,” said Dennis Dunham, South Range superintendent. “There are catastrophic things that can happen to a district” to change that, such as state funding cuts, he added.

In terms of what cuts could be made to improve the financial state of the district, “everything is on the table,” Dunham said Wednesday.

A three-year, 4.9-mills emergency operating levy was defeated Tuesday by South Range voters with 61 percent of voters against it. The levy would have generated $931,838 annually for three years. It would have cost the owner of a $100,000 home $171.50 a year. The district spent between $10,000 and $12,000 for the primary ballot, because no other issues were in front of residents of Beaver and Green townships.

“What we do is we let the dust settle a little bit and determine where we are 100 percent financially with our forecast and whether or not we need to make further cuts immediately or for the 2015-2016 [school year].”

The first round of cuts was approved at the Feb. 16 board of education meeting.

Read more about the levy failure fall-out in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.