Four Stark County school districts asking voters to approve levies on March primary ballot

Four school districts are asking voters to approve levies on the primary ballot, including Lake Local Schools, which is facing a $3 million deficit and more budget cuts if the tax is not approved.

Voters in Tuslaw Local Schools and Northwest Local Schools will see renewal levies on the March 19 ballot, while Marlington voters will be asked to approve new money for permanent improvements.

Will Lake Local voters approve new money for district's struggling finances?

Lake voters will once again see a referendum for new money on the ballot.

Voters will be asked to approve a five-year, 9.5-mill levy. If approved, collection would begin in 2025 and would generate $6.1 million annually.

It would cost a homeowner $333 per $100,000 evaluation of their home, according to the Stark County Auditor's Office.

The district is facing a more than $3 million deficit. By the end of the district's five-year forecast in 2028, it is looking at a $15 million shortfall without an infusion of money.

"The need is not going away," Superintendent Kevin Tobin said. "Actually, it gets worse."

The district has already made $1 million in cuts, including laying off 13 staff members in June.

Tobin said an additional 10 positions will be eliminated regardless of the outcome of March's vote. They plan to reduce the workforce through attrition, he said, noting seven teachers and one classified staff member are set to retire this school year.

Lake Local Schools: Crushing defeat: Lake Local Schools' levy fails, $3.1 million in cuts coming to district

This is the third time voters have been asked to consider the new tax. Last spring, nearly 70% of voters shot down a 13-mill continuous levy. That tax would have generated $8.3 million every year.

After the defeat, Lake officials opted to seek a lower millage and, instead of a continuous levy, proposed a five-year term for the tax.

In November, the district sought a five-year, 9.9-mill levy. Voters again turned down the measure.

"Maybe the third time is the charm," Tobin said. "This is a tough time economically and we get that, but we have to continue to educate our folks."

Based on the state's performance index for the 2022-23 school year, Lake once again topped Stark County schools for the eighth year and the district is in the top 6% of all Ohio school districts.

While Tobin said the district will continue to provide a quality education, the lack of cash is going to make it harder.

If the levy doesn't pass in March, district officials said they will have to make several changes, including reducing the school day to six hours; eliminating music and art in kindergarten through sixth grades; reducing STEAM offerings, high school electives, College Credit Plus and AP classes; and reducing physical education classes and library specials for kindergarten through sixth grade. Instead of having the electives every four days, students would have the class every nine days — the state minimum, Tobin said.

Field trips would be reduced and all non-essential trips would be eliminated.

Busing would be eliminated for high school students and reduced for kindergarten through eighth grade students within a two-mile radius of schools.

There would be no alternative stop pickups or drop-offs, no daycare shuttles and more cluster stops. The run time of bus rides would increase to 60 minutes. On average, Lake students spend no longer than 47 minutes on the ride from school to home, he added.

A $950 per sport fee would be assessed. Now, students pay $250 per sport with a $ 750 cap. There would be no caps under the $950 fee plan.

Club activity fees would continue to be assessed but could be increased. Some clubs and activities could be eliminated.

There would be a reduction in the use of the school buildings and the cost to use the building by outside groups could increase.

Tobin pointed out district taxpayers will be getting a break soon when the $26 million bond issue approved in 1999 drops off the tax books in 2026. The reduction will be about $98 per $100,000 appraised value of a home. The average home value in Lake Local is about $215,000.

"We'll continue to tell our story," Tobin said. "We feel very, very good about what we have done in the last decade. We are tops in Stark. We are a five-star rated school. The high school is a Blue Ribbon School. We are so much more than that. Our community and our people feel good and want to keep it going."

Marlington seeking new permanent improvement funds

To maintain the buildings and property of Marlington Local Schools, the district invests about $2 million a year.

It relies on a 2-mill continuous levy approved by voters in 1999 that was earmarked for capital improvement projects, maintenance and repairs of school property and certain equipment items that are designed to last five years or more. That tax generates $600,000 per year.

The $600,000 covers day-to-day maintenance for the district's five buildings, Superintendent Dan Swisher said.

"We want to continue to maintain and make our environment better for our kids, staff and community," Swisher said. "We're spending roughly $2 million a year (in maintenance). We could spend less but we need to continue to maintain what we have."

That's why the district is turning to voters.

The district is seeking a five-year, 2.9-mill levy designated for permanent improvements.

The tax would generate $1.5 million annually and cost about $102 per $100,000 of the appraised value of a home.

Last year, the district spent about $1 million to replace a portion of the high school roof and plans to spend another $1 million this summer to fix another portion. There are two more sections of the roof to be completed after that, Swisher said.

The district has several other maintenance needs, including addressing lighting, paving and wastewater treatment updates.

"The purpose of this money is to target larger investment items to maintain what we have," he said. "It is nothing to do with new buildings. It's to make sure what we have in place continues to be in good working order."

This is the first time the district is seeking permanent improvement funds, Swisher said.

"This community is very proud of the five buildings," he said. "We take pride in not having a lot of levies on the ballot and we are very conservative and make sure we are good stewards of our money. We are asking for just what we need."

Tuslaw voters to decide renewal of 4.1-mill levy

Tuslaw Local Schools is seeking the renewal of a 10-year, 4.1-mill levy.

The levy generates $1.2 million annually for the district's general fund and was first approved by voters in May 2010. It was renewed again in 2014 for 10 years. The tax was first introduced as a five-year tax.

According to the Stark County Auditor's Office, the cost to a homeowner is $126 per $100,000 of appraised value.

Treasurer Jason Norris said the district will spend a little more than $15 million this fiscal year, which ends June 30, 2024.

Tuslaw is ranked 15th for spending per pupil out of the county's 17 public school districts.

"I think that is pretty good," Norris said. "We spend pretty lean as a district. On the flip side, we are ranked in the top three academically in Stark County per the Ohio Department of Education performance index. We think the community is getting a lot of value for what they are paying for."

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Norris pointed out that more than half of the funding comes from local sources. The state funding is pretty level and is not likely to radically change in either direction, he said.

But with the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funds set to come to an end, Norris is projecting deficit spending in the district's five-year forecast.

The federal ESSER funds were awarded to districts in response to the pandemic. Tuslaw was among the many districts that used the money to provide extra educators and programs to help students overcome learning challenges because of the shutdown.

"Given the academic performance of the district, everything we are doing is working. Academically we are performing as one of the highest (districts) in the county," he said. "The board and Superintendent Melissa Marconi believe it's important to keep everything as consistent as we can moving forward."

The levy is part of the funding plan to keep the services in place, he said.

As a district, Tuslaw's operating expense per pupil is lower than 80% of other districts in Ohio.

"We are consistently in the top 20% of the state for academic performance," Norris added. "Our students are getting a good education for a very low price."

Northwest seeking renewal of income tax

Voters in Northwest School District will be asked to renew the district's 1% income tax, first approved in 2010 and has been renewed twice.

The renewal is for seven years. Voters can learn more about the levy on the district's website, www.northwest.sparcc.org.

Superintendent Shawn Braman said the income tax appears to be well received.

"The vibe I get from this community is it is fair. It is for everyone who lives in the community," he said.

The tax does not target homeowners but rather anyone living and working in the district.

"If you become unemployed or retired, you don't pay but if you rent and have a job, you pay," Braman added.

The tax collected $3.8 million in 2022-23 and officials anticipate $3.9 million would be collected in 2023-24.

The funding, Braman said, would be used to continue new student programming. The district has expanded its STEAM and foreign language offerings.

The money would also be used to retain staff. Braman said the district lost 24 teachers, including 11 at the high school, for better-paying jobs.

"We are looking to attract the best possible teacher candidates and more important retain them and part of that is through better pay," he said.

Finally, the tax dollars would help fund facility plans. The district purchased land a few years ago and officials are discussing plans that include an addition at the high school to allow for additional curriculum, he said.

"I think (the earned income tax) is gaining more popularity and the community supports it," he added.

Reach Amy at 330-775-1135 or amy.knapp@indeonline.com.

This article originally appeared on The Independent: Lake, Marlington, Tuslaw & Northwest have school levies on March 19