Wanting to avoid what interim board president Kevin Romanchok described as "voter fatigue" with school levies, the Avon Board of Education approved a plan at Thursday's meeting to combine two operating levies set to expire into one.
The now-single levy received a unanimous vote for a resolution of necessity, which is needed to submit to the Lorain County Auditor to determine millage. The board would have to approve submitting it to the voters by Dec. 7 to get it on the ballot for the March primary vote.
'This way, we're not putting one on the ballot and then coming back six months later asking for another one," Romanchok said.
The levies would be 10-year levies.
Since these are renewal levies, said treasurer Kent Zeman, there would be no increase in costs for homeowners. In fact, he added, the cost would be less per home since levies are for dollar amounts, not mills.
Since there are more homes now than there were in 2002, he said, each home's share is less.
With the failure of Issue 8, the $32 million to build a new Avon Middle School, the board approved a resolution of necessity for it so that it could be on the March primary ballot.
"This doesn't mean it will be on the March ballot," Romanchok said. "This just gives us the option of doing so."
The board also approved some salaries for this school year, including superintendent Jim Reitenbach ($100,000), Zeman ($112,550.88), Avon Village School principal Yolanda Little ($75,325), Avon East principal Sherry Szczepanski ($84,357.50), Heritage North principal Brent Betts ($83,717.50), Heritage South principal Jason Call ($82,000), Avon Middle School prinicipal Craig Koehler ($96,517.50), and Avon High athletic director Erich Frombach ($80,450).
L. W.
3:08 pm on Friday, November 11, 2011
I absolutely do not think they should put the middle school levy on the March ballot. We are already overburdened with taxes!!! They were running this levy on the premise of all the money they would have to put in to the present middle school to upgrade it. Well wouldn't they have to continue to do so seeing as they will be moving Pre-K and Kindergarten over there? Then the school board would be asking for MORE monies for that. And what would be happening to the village school and that property? How about stop the building in Avon so we wouldn't have to worry about more students?
Glen Heitkamp
9:24 pm on Friday, November 11, 2011
I think the middle school should be on the March Ballot. In addition, the March Ballot should include an additional levy to pay for updating Avon's Educational Tools and Equipment, better teacher pay, more teachers, extend the school day, make gym mandatory for everyone every quarter and expand extracurricular activities. Just because Avon is rated an Excellent School does not mean there is not a lot of room for improvement.