Schools Waging Campaign for Levy

Volunteers are waging an aggressive campaign to get Issue 15, the school district's 6-mill renewal levy, approved Nov. 8.

 would replace the existing 6-mill levy that has been in effect since 2002 and is set to expire in 2012. Like the existing levy, it would not raise taxes, but it would run indefinitely rather than expiring in five years.

“It’s a mixed bag out there among voters,” school board member Ruth Brickley said. “Have we crossed the line to feel comfortable? I don’t think the answer to that question will come until the last vote is counted in November.”

Tom Laub, the levy's campaign committee chairman, has launched a multi-pronged approach to promote the levy.

Laub has , distributed fliers, mailed out 16,000 informational letters to voters, set up hundreds of pro-Issue 15 front yard signs and sent volunteers to go door-to-door to garner support for the continuing levy.

Besides working to avert expenses, if the levy is passed and if  is elected, he and Naso would form a financial advisory board, Laub said.

The board would be composed of local businessmen who would work to increase the transparency of how the district's money is being spent and offer recommendations on how best to spend the revenues.

Board president Jennifer Sinisgalli said the decision to make the levy a continuing issue stemmed from the fact that it cost the district $100,000 in Board of Election fees to renew the current levy when it first expired in 2007. 

That six-figure price tag, Sinisgalli says, is too costly for the cash-strapped district.

If passed, Issue 15 would generate about $7.6 million in revenue per year for the district. Conversely, if it fails, school officials would have to make $7.6 million in cuts to balance the $78 million annual budget that’s been hobbled by $10 million in cuts over the last three years. 

“It all comes down to what kind of school district you want our community to have,” Sinisgalli said. 

If the levy is not renewed by next summer, officials have said a number of cuts will be implemented, including busing, gifted programs, advanced placement classes and extracurriculars.

Both board members and Laub say they’ve heard mixed responses, and that the challenge lies in reversing the stance among voters that Strongsville’s resident are overtaxed. 

The board clearly received that message when their proposed  was struck down in early August by an 80 percent margin.