VOTE NO~! I am not allowed to vote just because we bought our house 22days and NOT 30 days prior to the election....That is bs. If passed we are going to have to shell out $400/yr for a Levy we DIDN'T even get a chance to vote on. Let alone, they say they have been cutting costs, but yet hiring for other meanial positions at the same time. Well it's time school employees pay into their own retirement system/healthcare system that the rest of us do. I work for the FEDERAL government and don't even get a FULL ride. VOTE NO~!!!!

As a teacher and resident in Stow, I have a question and a comment. Melissa refers to hiring other "meanial" positions. Which positions are you referring to? Also, you infer that school employees don't pay into our own retirement system (STRS). In fact, we pay 10% of our salary into our retirement. Regarding health care costs, we are paying 10% of our health care costs starting this month and will pay 15% next year. My only intention with this post is to correct inaccurate information. BTW, Stow is a great place to live, work and raise a family.

Mr Moyer what you stated is true but, I can tell you never work other then a teacher.
most people have to pay up word of 75% for there health care and then there are those who have to pay for full health care. Retirement some companys pay nothing. and some pay very little. Teachers are paid very well becaucse of unions.
go to www.buckeyeinstitute.org this website will tell you your wages and benefits and tell me your not making a good buck.

WELL THE WORD IS OUT AND WILL BE OUT AGAIN IN NOVEMBER.
THE WORST THING THAT THE SCHOOL HAS AGAINST THEM IS A WELL INFORM RESIDENTS.. AND WE AS RESIDENTS DON'T RESPECT THE SCHOOL AND BOARD
MEMBERS WHO TRIED TO TRICK US BY NOT INFORMING THE RESIDENTS OF THE LEVY.
WE NEED A NEW SCHOOL BOARD WHO VOTES BY WHAT THE RESIDENTS WHNT NOT WHAT THE SCHOOL WANTS.

Joseph and Jeanne- If you read my post carefully, you would see that I am simply replacing inaccurate facts in the original post by Melissa with information that is correct. Based on the vitriolic responses here, the place to have an honest discussion on public sector compensation would not be in this forum. There is no convincing the unconvinced.

As a well informed citizen of Stow, I look forward to voting in favor of this levy.

It's poor logic to vote against a school levy to punish the teachers because you think they are overpaid or don't work hard enough. Only our kids will suffer without appropriate funds to provide opportunities that will make them competitive for college or jobs post-graduation. Additionally, our property values will decrease with a failing school district and our community will see tremendous losses in economic development.

Don't forget to VOTE on Aug.2

To Ms.Hanson..Maybe you should inform the public that you are very active on the School Levy Committe and were recently awarded a certificate for your work on this committee I believe at a PTA Council meeting at Kimpton.. Althgough you are entitled to your opinion, MAYBE you and the school officials and Board should be more honest to the general public who votes on these issues and maybe they would get our vote. Remember the mess Dr. Jones got into with PTA Council and we the taxpayers paid $1,050.00 to rectify his mistake.. with the Levy committee, WHY???This is just one example of their incompetency.

Joseph, it was pretty obvious and is pretty obvious that most individuals that have spoken up for this levy are either teachers or involved with this levy somehow or don't own property here in Stow.

To say our kids will suffer if the levy fails is saying that our teachers will neglect their jobs and I don't agree with that. We all know that 85% of all school revenue for the massive $53,000,000 annual budget is for salaries and therefore any supporter of the levy that states that a 'no' vote will hurt the kids is really a slap in the face of our good teachers. The worst that can happen if this 10 year levy fails is that the classroom sizes will increase from the average 18 students per classroom if some teachers are let go in order for the rest to keep up with the new budget the union approved which provided no salary cuts. Will a modest increase in classroom size cause teachers to teach a different lesson? Most students in high school would laugh at such a notion.

Furthermore, we have been very supportive of our teachers and have proven that by voting 'for' tax levies every other year for the past 3 decades. And, we just voted 'for' last year's levy. If this levy fails, I suggest those who support the increase in taxes because they feel their budgets allow it and have the average Stow home (median Stow value is $200,000), to donate $4000 to the school district. That is the amount their property taxes would increase over the life of this extra long duration levy (10 years). And, if the levy fails, those who don't pay property taxes but vote 'for' the levy should still donate out of their income if they are truly a supporter of the property tax increase.

Thank you Joseph for posting this announcement on July 25. I noticed how silent supporters of the proposed property tax increase have been in July up until your announcement brought the levy to people's minds again. Yes, it's important for the future of Stow and homeowners to get out and vote. A property tax increase of this magnitude will be the nail in the coffin for many struggling homeowners in Stow and Munroe Falls during the worst economic disaster this nation has faced since the Great Depression. I've heard of prospective homebuyers that have been turned off by the increasing property taxes in this area. That's not helping our property values. I had my father's house up for sale and one of the biggest concerns homebuyers had was "how much are the property taxes". Most of those looking had no children in public schools. Many responsible young couples are deciding not to have children due to the expense and when they do feel they can afford a family without depending on welfare they are desiring to put them in private schools near Stow. The worst thing we can do for our home values right now is increase the property taxes. It simply won't turn into higher property values which used to mean cash out refinances if you wanted to stay in your home. That's not an option for most property owners now since the banks have new rules.
If you have had salary increases and expect having enough money to pay the increasing healthcare costs and afford the tax increase vote 'yes'.

This is known as the tricks of the trade. It all adds up and come back to the school board working with our DR JONES, and not letting the public know what is going on in their little world.
I want to thank the Stow Sentry and the Stow Patch for informing STOW residents.

The levy committee was wise to not place signs out this time that would inform voters that there was a tax levy issue on an unusual August ballot. Most realize there is always issues to vote on in November, but not always in August. The school levy supporters were wise to try to keep publicity down on this and only send out postcards to those they think will support a tax increase, the parents of children in the public school system. They knew if they informed those homeowners on fixed income such as senoir citizens that they would not support this particular levy as they have for others levies. Stow voters have shown they support levies every other year and the school knows that. The district has had levies on ballots almost every single year for the past 30 years and many of those years multiple times.

Whether this levy passes or fails, there are at least 2 other levies that we will see very soon in upcoming years due to renewal requests. So, if this one passes it does not mean those levies to renew existing property taxes will go away. The strategy will be to ask now, if it fails ask again, then if that fails they may opt for a third (the limit) but tack on one of the renewals so it puts more pressure on voters. Their strategy usually pays off as we see levies have been passed every other year and the current millage is close to 50 mills now.
More cuts are needed as well as a fairer way to tax instead of property taxes which hurt those on fixed incomes.

Look for new names running for school board in November. For those who want a change the time is now.

GOD BLESS AMERICA AND OUR RIGHT TO VOTE. WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

(( REMENBER THE SCHOOL BOARD WORST ENEMY IS AN EDUCATED RESIDENT AND A WELL INFORM RESIDENT .))