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Streetsboro school levy downed by 97 votes in special election

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Chris Burkey
August 8, 2007

By Bob Gaetjens

Gateway News editor

STREETSBORO -- The 5.1-mill Streetsboro school levy for both day-to-day operations and permanent improvements failed by 97 votes during Tuesday's special election

According to complete, but unofficial results from the Portage County Board of Elections, 1,077 voted for the levy and 1,174 voted against it.

After hearing of the defeat, Superintendent Tom Giovangnoli thanked those gathered at the Channel 16 studio at the high school who helped campaign for the levy during the last couple weeks.

"Thank you for your efforts, everybody," he said.

The Board of Education will decide at its meeting at 7:30 p.m. Thursday what cost savings measures must be enacted at the beginning of the 2007-08 school year.

The meeting be held at Henry Defer Intermediate School.

The administration has presented some items that are not state mandated to be cut, Giovangnoli said.

Items that could be eliminated for the upcoming school year include high school busing; any non-special education classroom aides; a certified librarian position at Defer Intermediate School; Saturday Success School, a remedial program available for students who need extra help; all extra-curricular activities at Defer; and fees for all groups using school facilities after hours.

Failure of the levy means the state is likely to place the district in "fiscal caution," said Treasurer Todd Puster, citing a June 11 letter from the Ohio Department of Education. "Fiscal caution" is the first of three warning labels the state gives districts that are in financial trouble.

The 5.1-mill levy would have cost the owner of a $100,000 home $60 a year and raised $600,000 for permanent improvements and $1.5 million for day-to-day operations in the district, according to Puster.

Streetsboro resident John Ataman said the board becomes its own worst enemy by declining to answer questions posed by residents during its meetings.

"People out on the streets ask questions, and we have no answers because we get no answers," he said.

In the past, the school administrators have said the policy of not answering questions posed during board meetings exists for legal reasons.

Ataman said he believes running meetings with give and take between residents and the board would give the school more success in passing levies.

Resident Laura DeLambo said the group that came together during the last couple weeks before the election needs to stay together and begin getting organized for the next levy campaign, which Giovangnoli said could come as soon as November.

"I think we need to say, 'who's on the new levy committee,' and 'let's get started,'" she said. "We need to start tomorrow."




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 3 Total Comments
3.
    Posted by CmdrKJon August 9, 2007
I do have a clue as to what I speak. My post was not an attack on any specific school board or administration. I understand that in Ohio we have a flawed system that school boards an administrations have no control over. My proposal was to have the learned minds to present other options. If viable options are presented to the legislature to correct the system, it would be much easier to perhaps pass a levy as a stop gap measure until the more viable option is in place.

The real problem is that in Ohio, citizens are being taxed to the saturation point. Plain and simple, we cannot afford more taxes. Income taxes, state and local, sales taxes, property taxes,sin taxes, utility taxes, etc. There is only so much a working person can afford, therefore when there is a choice, levies get voted down. Look at the emergency services levy in Mantua.

I have family and friends who have moved to another state and have absolutely no intentions of moving back. Why? Because they do not face the same tax burden.

BTW, I do have a degree, but I have no desire to run for public office.

2.
    Posted by Tony Balognia August 8, 2007
Cmdr you don't have a freakin clue what you're talking about! This is not Pennsylvania where levies don't go to the voters, this is Ohio, and the way our SYSTEM is designed, the schools are solely sustainable on tax levies. If you don't like that, then get a degree, run for public office, and maybe one day if you're a state rep you can do something about it. Until then don't take THE BROKEN SYSTEM out on the children because all you're going to do is put the school's into default and then your property won't be worth squat anyways. One school board does not have the authority or political pull to change an entire system. You are just as ignorant as every other idiot who votes down a levy because of THE ADMINISTRATION. Take it out on the administration when it comes time for re-election, don't take it out on the students in a special election. Do you even know what senior citizen's just received a $400 tax credit anyways??? So that far more than subsidize their increase in property tax.

Do us all a favor and GET INFORMED!!!

1.
    Posted by CmdrKJon August 8, 2007
In 2004, I asked a school official who was promoting the Waterloo renewal levy "When was this levy originally approved. His answer was 1986. I asked him why was the shortfall was not corrected in the past 18 years and his answer was that expenses continued to increase.

This is why School Boards do not do Q & A sessions about a levy and try to sneak them through when they feel there will be low voter turn out. The system is broke, instead of trying the same old tactics to pass a levy, why not focus on fixing the system.

Levies continue to fail, school systems continue to put them on the ballot and cancel programs until they are passed, and the children suffer.

As educated individuals, school board members and administrators should be able to bring their knowledge together to at least present other alternatives. Instead of help us fill the bucket, lets try to fix the leak.

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