If Issue 67 — the Stow-Munroe Falls School District's 10-year 7.84-mill levy —fails, the district plans to pursue the renewal levy again.
The current five year levy in place is for 7.3-mills and generates $7.3 million annually for operating funds. It expires at the end of the year. The current levy, although passed five years ago at 7.3-mills, is being collected at 8.05-mills. According to Summit County Fiscal records, an 8.05-mill tax costs the owner of a $100,000 home about $250 annually.
The millage for the renewal is higher than when it first passed and it is for 10 years, not five. The renewal levy, if passed Nov. 6, will still generate $7.3 million annually for the district. It would begin in 2013 with collection starting the following year.
District Treasurer/CFO Catherine Bulgrin said "it's premature to talk about potential cuts if the renewal levy doesn't pass because we will have another opportunity ask for the renewal."
This levy is a continuation from a new tax first passed in the early 1990's by Stow voters, she said.
"It is critical for us to continue to receive these funds," Bulgrin said.
If passed in November, the renewal levy would cost the owner of a $100,000 home:
- $240.10 a year
- $20 a month
In the treasurer's latest five-year financial forecast, the financial situation for the district if the renewal passes and if it does not pass are included in the projection.
(Click here to view the entire five-year forecast.)
In line 10 of the treasurer's report, she expects the district to be $-5.3 million in the red in 2016 and that number more than quadruples to $-24.2 million in 2017 if the levy fails.
In line 12, the treasurer calculates to be in the black by $15.3 million in 2016 and by $8.4 million in 2017 if the levy passes.
Are you "for" or "against" the district's renewal levy?
In an unscientific Patch poll, 50 percent of those who voted in the poll plan to vote against the levy and 46 percent plan to vote for it (as of Oct. 28).
BULLDOG
8:23 am on Monday, October 29, 2012
VOTE N0 ,issue 67 It will cost you more money then what they say!!!!!!!!!!! EMPTY OR FORECLOSED HOMES ,LESS STATE FUNDING ,STUDENT ENROLLMENT DOWN .Taxpayers make up difference in levy amount.Stop the fixing of student grades for financial gain.10 year levy renewal (really).85 % goes to wages .Work with what they have,stop spending money on ridiculous programs.STOP threatening to take things away or make us pay for that we already pay for!!. BEST OF ALL LOWER YOUR TAXES BY $ 240.00 (100,000 HOME) PER YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.HOW ABOUT THE TREASURE TAKE A PAY CUT ! And do the cuts in the administration office!!!!
SALLY DAVENPORT
11:49 am on Monday, October 29, 2012
I am saddened by the anger being expressed here. No school budget can be funded by staff pay cuts of hundreds of dollars . Or, is the school system supposed to reduce the pay of all administrators, thereby making the system unattractive to the most qualified people? Of course, the majority of the budget goes for salaries - of the people who are teaching the students, transporting them, and cleaning the buildings, and making them safe for our children. Would you prefer robots to do this work? The argument would be more persuasive if it were grammatically correct.
James Thomas
1:38 pm on Monday, October 29, 2012
Sally Davenport,
the only choice the schools have in the present economic environment is to pay their employees less or pay less employees. Reality is hard but it is reality.
Jan Steuart
9:25 am on Monday, October 29, 2012
It bothers me that the renewal is for 10 years. I would probably vote for it if it was a 3 yr or 5 yr renewal but a lot can happen in 10 yrs and then there is no accountability. Plus this is not the only levy I believe there are 2 more up for renewal in the next 2 years.
John Moyer
3:07 pm on Monday, October 29, 2012
Jan- your point is one made by others. But what would you like the district to do re. the length of the levy? If the levy is for less than 10 years, that means it expires sooner. Therefore, voters are asked to renew it more often. This often leads people to say, "What's this? We just voted on a levy!" If the levy is for 10 years, then people complain that it's too long.
Melissa Bysura
11:49 am on Monday, October 29, 2012
Very good point Jan! I couldn't agree more.
Reds fan
3:07 pm on Monday, October 29, 2012
Does anyone know if this increase provides for raises, healthcare and pension payments? If so, I say vote NO. Premature to talk cuts??? Why is tax us always the first option? Isn't that how we got into this problem in the first place?
Ed Fisher
9:01 pm on Monday, October 29, 2012
As always, I'm puzzled when I hear that if the levy isn't approved, it is already planned to ask again. Why doesn't NO mean NO ? This appears to be the accepted practice regarding these school levies. How many times must the voters speak before the message is received ? Pay attention please, school board......you'll have your "day in court" next Tuesday. If you lose, move on.
Tom McFalls
1:11 pm on Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Ed you disappoint me. With your liberal bias I thought you would be all about the redistribution of wealth. Also you should quit whining about the way levies are voted upon.
Ed Fisher
2:19 pm on Wednesday, October 31, 2012
sorry to dissappoint you. have you made the mistake of placing a label on me so you can make some invalid point ? apparently so. my making a statement get under your thin skin ? who is whining ?
Tom McFalls
8:33 pm on Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Ed the label sticks. I always love when liberals deny that they are liberals.
Don't worry my skin is rather thick. And finally by the way your are whining. Again don't deny it just admit it will set you free.
Ed Fisher
10:19 am on Thursday, November 1, 2012
whatever makes you happy. what you love is certainly high on everyone's priority here. your posts speak for themselves. i'm free. always have been. and labels are always appropriate when intelligence runs short. get it ?
Jeanne Fencl
9:01 pm on Monday, October 29, 2012
Well it appears that Madame President, thinks differently. There will be massive cuts if not passed? I am not going to debate this with you on microphone? Go to 2:22 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCKsyoZ3FQ4
Jeanne Fencl
6:53 am on Tuesday, October 30, 2012
http://stow.patch.com/articles/school-district-treasurer-gets-5-year-contract
Jeanne Fencl
6:53 am on Tuesday, October 30, 2012
http://stow.patch.com/articles/superintendent-s-contract-renewed-but-not-everyone-on-school-board-approves
J
2:24 pm on Tuesday, October 30, 2012
It would seem to me that the teachers are paid well in this market. As such this is an area that could be and should be looked into as a means of controlling costs. In 2011 the average teacher salary in Stow was $63,501.83. The average for a similar district was $62,090.16. Teacher salary as a percent of operating expenditures was 64.03% and for a similar district it was 60.80%. As this shows, teacher salary in Stow as a percent of operating expenditures is higher than a similar district in this state. Secondly, the median income in Stow was $38,705.00 and the mean income was $56,106.00. As can be seen by these numbers the teachers are paid very well in comparison to their peers in this city. These numbers do not include fringe benefits which we all know are higher than what the average is in the work place. Now of course people will go on the attack and state that reducing the expenditures per pupil will hurt the students. Not so when you know the facts. Twinsburg spent $10,450.00 per pupil and Stow spent $10,027.04. Twinsburg was rated as Excellent with Distinction, and Stow was not. Does anyone really think that $422.96 per pupil made that difference? It did not! Freeze salaries until the board can figure out how to control expenses… very simple solution.
Jeanne Fencl
2:24 pm on Tuesday, October 30, 2012
One may question the cost of IB, what is the actual cost? http://www.nsnews.com/NVSD+plans+program+Queen+Mary+elementary/7459995/story.html
J
3:38 pm on Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Well, let us see how the focus on IB and other items has come to help the district:
2003 – 2004 Edward Vandenbulke Effective
2004 – 2005 Edward Vandenbulke Effective
2005 – 2006 Russell D. Jones Continuous Improvement
2006 – 2007 Russell D. Jones Excellent
2007 – 2008 Russell D. Jones Excellent with Distinction
2008 – 2009 Russell D. Jones Excellent with Distinction
2009 – 2010 Russell D. Jones Excellent
2010 – 2011 Russell D. Jones Excellent
It appears we are moving in the wrong direction and I thought IB would help this. You know, make better students. When focus was placed on new levy’s and the IB Program we went backwards in our scoring. We passed a new levy so I assume Mr. Jones now has the tools to bring us back to the top??? I also assume that the IB Program will push those schools in the district that score the lowest to move up in the rankings… is that not what this is all about? Improving our students? What the board does not get is that Mr. Jones was able to be a one trick pony and drive up scores in the short term while at the same time not having any idea of how to keep them there as evident in our district’s scoring.
Tom McFalls
1:08 pm on Wednesday, October 31, 2012
You people crack me up. You have a great school system and you should keep it that way. Keeping it at excellent and above is great.
Your comment about IB also makes no sense. It is at one school and has not been at that school very long.
Jeanne Fencl
8:33 pm on Wednesday, October 31, 2012
McFalls, how long has IB been operating in our district? Over two years, right? And in that time, how many schools has it touched? Weren't teachers IB trained at other schools? Hasn't IB been the Curriculum Director's pet project? Didn't the mission statement and vision for the entire district change? Time to be honest with the community, your big hairy dream is to feed IB into every SMF school, the groundwork is well underway, and-officially or not- we well may be seeing the effects of your single-minded UNESCO-vision.
J
9:20 pm on Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Secondly... when the current millage was passed our district had 5,617 students. Today we have 5,345. Seems to me we can cut some costs and lower the amount of this millage.
Jan Steuart
11:55 am on Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Also why is this an EMERGENCY levy? I don't understand why we will have an emergency for the next 10 years?
Jan Steuart
11:55 am on Wednesday, October 31, 2012
I'm really not opposed to voting for school levies, I support the schools, I just don't like the 10 yr term. Dr. Jones said there were 2 more levies (I think) coming up for renewal in the next couple years and they want to put them all on 10 yr cycles to prevent voter fatigue. I understand that, but I think that's the risk you take. I want more accountability than handing them my money for 10 yrs. My daughter is in 1st grade she will be in HS when this comes up again. A lot can change including property values and state funding.
David Gofflinger
2:39 pm on Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Vote Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
J
9:51 am on Thursday, November 1, 2012
McFalls...
The program has been around for at least two years and has had no impact on our district rankings and performance unless you believe that going backwards in the rankings is a good thing. It is time and money wasted on a program, that simply based on our district's performance, does not work. It is not the only issue but simply one that is indicative of the issues we have as a district. Money being wasted, lack of transparency, and threats of cuts. I am happy that I have made you crack up. While you are laughing, please get your facts as I have done. If our district was being run the way it should be we would be receiving the highest performance rankings. We are not and to say that being excellent is “good enough” is humorous. That is like telling our children that getting a “B” is good enough so there is no reason to strive for an “A.” I may be wrong in this, is it Mr. Jones’s job to get us a “B” or did we just renew his contract because a “B” is just good enough? Seems to me his pay should have been tied heavily with getting the highest performance rankings. SO Tom, we have a “good” school system, a “great” school system is one that consistently receives the highest performance rankings in the state. Get it, that is what “great” means. I will vote “YES” for the levy if the school board resigns and Mr. Jones is no longer the superintendent.