How about lowering some of the teacher salaries? Have you checked them out on the state treasure website. Much higher then cities around us. Not saying that they do a bad job, but most teachers income is going up about $3,000 to $4,000 each year in the Avon Lake School District. There are not many jobs that poeple are getting a raise that big each year; if one at all. Most peoples income is going down which is why the city is not getting as much tax money as 5 years ago. Yet you want the tax payers to pay more each year and most of us arent getting raises that big; if one at all. Just another reason Avon Lake will become just like some other cities around us, our shopping centers are already empty.

Vote a big NO to this levy. First the state cut funds to the schools so that forced the schools to post levies. Now the state claims they will have $500 savings in a fund at the end of 2012. Force the state to take some of this money and give it back to the schools. Second instead of cutting teachers salarys cut the fat at the top from Superintendent down. This district is so topy heavy with big salaries and people falling all over them selfs. Next cut sport promams like Swim teams where you have to rent pool hours to train. Next cut hokcey teams again where you have to rent ice time. Next cut busing make kids to start walking and families start driving kids to school. (JUST SAY NO TO THE BOARD AND VOTE DOWN THIS LEVY) Seniors get up off your asses and starting contacting other seniors to vote NO on this levy

Just because I live in Avon Lake does not mean I can afford a $600.00 + a year tax increase. I have supported every school levy, up until this point, and my 3 kids do not even attend the public school. This is just too much, I am really shocked at the thought of it.

I cannot and will not afford this levy. I have approved all the one's in the past but enough is enough. Pension plans and benefits are ridiculous as are salaries. I agree we have great teachers here, however, there are plenty of great employees out there not making nearly what they make. I looked up salaries and was appalled.

There is basically no hiding these facts: You have the people with no kids in the AVL school systems currently that vote NO on every school levy because they are cheap and can care less about their neighbors or the future of the world because hey, let's face it, they won't be around to see that right? I mean let's call a spade a spade and just say that thats whats a levy vote decision basically comes down to is selfishness,greed and hypocrisy.

That's human nature unfortunately folks.

But of course when they did have kids in the school system they voted YES for every levy when it was convenient too because well they didn't want the fear of cuts happening to their precious children or gulp, over sized classroom..etc.

It has absolutely nothing to do with salaries or raises. Like I said,It comes down to nothing more than hypocrisy,greed and selfishness.

Yeah people will chime in here saying they never had kids in the school system..yadda..yadda..yadda..Look I can be whoever i want to be on the internet as well.You are only lying to yourselves...

Than you have the ones with kids in the school system currently that always vote YES because heaven forbid if they want an amazing public school system where you don't have to send your kids to a private school and pay insane amounts of money to basically get the same education.But of course they stop voting yes on levy's when their kids cart off to college.And the vicious cycle of selfishness,greed and hypocrisy starts all over again!.OH JOY!

Doesn't matter what you say here..That is what is going on here and that is the facts folks!

2006 was the last time they "had to have more money" -- really???? What about the new football stadium and the (emergency levy) bus garage? All very new! They don't know how to stop going to the till. I support good education because that supports higher house values. I'm just tapped out and that is a major increase. They just need to do less things.

My house has gone down in value. Did my property tax go down .......

Gee Bob...you want me to throw in my car and first born as well? Both hands out this time, eh? That is a ridiculous increase. There is no way I will vote for that levy and I have three kids in the system. I will not vote for another one again until they fix the burdensome pension system. Don't want to hear the boo-hooing about what will be cut when you have that shiny new stadium in the back of the school.

I agree Buck98 George Z, I as well have a young child and also graduated from Avon Lake. I dont understand how anyone could say its not the salaries, if the average Avon lake employee salary is going up by $3,000 each year, that adds approx $750,000 each year. Just because we live in avon lake dosent mean everyone can afford it. This whole city just needs a major overhaul, i understand theres politics in every city but this city has to be one of the worst. Just an example: I know an aspiring Police Officer and as you know its very competitive. When Westlake held a test this year they had 200 people show up because they actually advertised it. When Avon Lake held a test last year 34 people showed up, most of them relatives of Avon Lake police or Avon lake employees. Will vote a big No.

No way! All of our taxes are going up in 2013 thanks to our current president because 40 percent is apparently our fair share and now I'm looking at over $1,000 extra in taxes to live in this community. NO!

If you don't like taxes then move out, LOTS of properties for sale in Elyria/Lorain or Cleveland, especially on its east side. They have a LOW cost of living and have been "revamped" and ALL the levies fail. taxes stay LOW there forever!!!. Please go, i will help pay for your move. 1st the Fire levy and now schools, yea voting no really works. Guess what-most of you complaining ALL got a raise also and heres another secret, everything goes up. Stop your "complaining" or get the F out. I would tell you how i really feel about you all but Lori would delete me. And no-not a teacher or any relation to any teacher/school. Avon Lake and this site is turning into a preschool with all this crying

Good luck with this....
Your gonna need it.

I feel like there is still excess, especially at the high school. My student notices things like a free treat for honor roll students or new computer monitors in the lunch line and actually complains that this is a waste of money. If we want our students to learn to be responsible citizens, allow them to be part of this conversation. We need to begin teaching them to be financially responsible. When students, especially the high school students, see that everything is handed to them, they are not being shown the reality of the world today.

I realize that this is a very aflulent community where many people are millionaires. There are many "working class" families here too. Everyone is this country had to make cuts because of the greed of Wall Street and the banks (not because of the current president by the way). This trickles down to state governments (Mr. Kasich) who have taken away monies for which I feel are very important, schools, fire, police and community services. Unfortunately I have to vote no. I am a teacher (not here) but have not received a raise since 2008, given back money each year, and paid more for pension and health care. Let your governor know how you feel about him taking money from YOUR taxes to help fund his pet peeve charter schools.

Low taxes brought a lot of people to Avon Lake. High taxes - and $4 gas - will drive a lot of people out.

And if people stop coming in, you'll see property values drop, then you'll need to keep voting for more tax increases to avoid cuts. Its a very bad cycle.

I moved into Avon Lake 8 years ago because I own a business here. My taxes started out at 3300. If this passes, my taxes will raise to 4400 a year. That is a 33% increase. If I sell my home, I will not get what I paid.

This is the same situation that made home values LOWER in Bay Village. It got to the point where people living in Bay Village into retirement age had to sell and move, because they could no longer afford to live in their home.

I have grandchildren living in Avon Lake. Did we need the lavish Construction at the High School? Did we need the new Bus Terminal? Did we need the New Stadium? What about the "little things" that change evey year, and no one sees, but still cost lost of money? When is it enough? When will it end?

I agree with you Dave. Enough is enough. Some of the things in your post, i.e. the bus terminal, were also "emergency" levies. It does absolutely nothing for the education of the community's kids. VOTE THIS LEVY DOWN. I can't believe they have the gall to bring this before the voters. Crazy! We have all had to tighten our budgets - about time the schools did too without looking for another hand out. Just another gimme gimme gimme from the schools. Damn welfare state. ENOUGH! And vote out the council members who fail to attract new business to the area that could help with the shortfall. Too many of them are worried more about chasing deer and installing windmills - neither of which brings new business to the area. We are turning into Bay Village.

Check this:
http://visiontoamerica.org/10538/americans-lose-faith-in-public-schools/#.T-cpBVtmNaQ.email

These teachers and administrators are bleeding us dry-----Their arrogance, greed, and total disdain for the taxpayer is evident. 9mils. they must be laughing----if this fails, and it must fail, then they will meekly come back to ask for half-----they are spending our grandchildren`s education---in order to buy a third home, a trip to Isreal, or whatever. They deserve nothing!

Bob Scott must be half out of his mind. How can the cost of maintaining those schools be addtionally 9 million more over 5 years? How is this possible?

Businesses and families are making cuts all across this once great country, unemployment and underemployment are high, people are struggling. Why is it that everyone but the government (local, state, and federal) must live within a budget? There isn't a revenue problem, there is a spending problem.

Bob, I challenge you to get creative and figure this out. Make the tough decisions or we will find someone else who will.

I'm not sure the calculations in the article are correct about potential increases. "Home value" and "county valuation" are two different things. The county uses some goofy formula for tax valuation which is lower than the average sale/value. So maybe the actual rates quoted are lower than what the article shows? Can we get some official review to ensure we all understand is this based on county tax valuation vs the average home value? At this point I'm indifferent to the Levy issue - I believe we all need to understand the facts and look at the data as to how the district manages and compares to comparable districts. I'd say overall the district does a GREAT job and we as a community need to review the facts vs jumping to conclusions.

avonlaker1234, good question. I will have a posting later on exactly how the county determines the tax rate. It's a complicated formula based on a discounted rate. You can then look at your tax bill's valuation and figure out how much the increase is baed on the millage.

I am a bit confused obviously-
1) Since each student pays for any Advanced Placement exam associated with an honors class, why does the school board cite honors courses to justify the tax increase?
2) Are all these honors courses necessary? Is there a need for Honors Choir?
3) If costs have been 'cut to the bone' I suggest the redefine bone. How is the cost of maintaining, heating, cooling, cleaning etc 2 gyms part of the necessary bone?

Before you put a levy on due the following: Cut by 1/4 the salary of the Superintendent and his staff. Cut all busing, Cut sport programs (1) eliminate the swim teams (2) eliminate the hockey teams (3) make everyone playing sports pay ($250) for each sport. Then and only then put a levy on the ballot not the 9.0 but a 5.0

I don't understand the math here. According to the article - from 2009-2013, the district lost $8.8 million TOTAL in funding over the 4 years - yet the new levy will generate $7.5 milion PER year in new funding?? Where is the extra $5.3 million per year going?? How much funding has really been lost?? Can someone clarify the numbers??

MZ. You need to realize the word "Emergency" is a legal term required by the State of Ohio. It is not some scare tactic devised by the school district. Take a look at the link and it explains (the backward?) way Ohio requires districts to fund their operations. http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/School_bond_and_tax_elections_in_Ohio

There is an emergency but it is not financial. The real emergency is the shortage of economic stewardship by the Board and the Superintendent. These are our schools. We taxpayers pay the bills. We elect and hire people to be stewards of the taxpayers dollars. For too long we taxpayers have been too trusting and generous. Every time we approve more money there is always some reason they need more and more and more. And it's always an emergency and we are always fed the line that "it's for the children" and dire consequences will follow if we don't pay up. We get few real answers to tough questions only that there is no way cut anything, not even those $70,000 bus + purchases. Did any of you request a copy of the research that prompted the schools to go for the whole enchilada ? Do you know that education in Avon is just as good as ALS and much less costly. Why ?
It's time for taxpayers to stand as owners of our schools and let the Board and the Superintendent know that this huge 9 mil tax increase is unacceptable.

FYI. Everybody. Avon Lake is almost a private school system. State funding is 20% or less of the total budget. A good part of that goes to comply with and administer state regs and standards. Charter schools are not under the same regulatory burdens and costs. It's time to rethink how we fund and operate our schools. Depending on power plants. auto and chemical factories is risky as we are learning the hard way. Few cities in America with a population of barely 25,000, other than wealthy enclaves, can afford to maintain a top notch school system and we are learning that too. the costly way. And if you raise the taxes on those factories and power plants, guess what, they leave ! These tax increases cannot be a replacement for some smarts !

Superintendent says:

“We’ve reduced 13 teachers and almost $1.4 million (per year) in personnel over the past two years,” Scott said. “The teachers took 0 percent raises for the last two years.

What is he talking about? Look at http://www.buckeyeinstitute.org/teacher-salary and change the District Name field to Avon Lake City... Now look at the school employee salaries.

% increase 2011 over 2010:
4.7%

Just looking at individual employees, their salaries from 2011 over 2010 averaged about a $2500 increase. The salary expenses for the district increased by over $1.9 million. Not counting what look to be new employees (who were not listed for the 2010 year, or worked less than 20 days), it was still an increase of almost $1.3 million for the year.

How is this possible if the Superintendent says that teachers have not been given raises for the last two years?

I have an spreadsheet containing all of this data, if anyone is interested:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Al2OCyfoJ91VdER4MW9BTmFCd0VaalpOOVJIdUN4Z2c

Frankly, you would think someone from the schools (Board, Admin, etc ...) would jump on here if it was so important. From the above post, with a little bit of research, appears to have been caught in a bold face lie. I'd like believe the school board, but the facts (above) just show differently. Can Patch request this? If it is an "emergency" to the board, a little 'sunlight' will let all shine??

I have to state that my 2 daughters graduated from the Parma school system with honors, and that was a system which had many defeated levy's over the years. It's all about what the students put into it. Now as an AL resident with stepchildren here, I have to say the district can do the same job with less money. Bob Scott talks about devalued properties but our tax rates are the same so where is that money going to? And come back to us in the fall of 2014 for a new Levy to prepare for the power plant closing in april of 2015.
And shame on those who packaged the football field with the school bus garage. the money for that renovation would have made a dent in this deficit. I also looked at the salaries for our district and they are just as high as River. They are ranked 6th in the state and we are 25th. I have had no increase in salary for going on 5 years and have made it work, not easily but nevertheless less surviving. I will be voting no.

if this issue dont pass there will be more unemployment they are going to go after support staff which has not had a raise in 3 years this is not all about the teachers its the one that keep the schools clean for your children i know its alot to ask but avonlake is a very good school system and busing you should set limits where you live to get bussed they are going to make 2.1 million in cuts to support staff which are not teachers they are maintaince of the schools ,bussing,cleaners ,which dont make a whole lot of money about 38,000 a year which is not much at all its just going to put more people on unemployment not good they did not need a stop light at the high school or a new bus garage they could have done without used what they had but sports for avonlake is a big thing do you want that to go too no doesnt ford or geon give money to the schools look at them

Everyone look at these figures: Superintendent-$117,500.00
Treasure $87,000.00
High School Principal- $116,125.00 - HS Asst. Principal-$83,635.00 - HS Asst.Principal-$76,792.00 - Learwood Principal $111,374.00 - Learwood Asst. Principal-$88,196.00
Athletic Director - $102,169.00
Transportation Supervisor - $60,526.00
All teachers salaries have been frozen since 2009

Cut busing - Cut all sport programs - What is more important education or sports??

Why do people keep saying that teachers' salaries have been frozen or that they haven't gotten raises since 2009? Sorry - I gotta call BS? It's right there on the website, each year is higher than the last - except for the superintendent whose 2010 is exactly the same as 2011. These salaries don't seem exorbitantly too high (to me?). These are educated professionals, and the higher paid ones have been teaching for many years. I would imagine any person with any masters degree should be able to earn over 60k without anyone thinking it was odd. You want them to work for free? Come on! I'm getting the impression that this battle is turning into "Seniors" vs. "Young Families" - so which is it Avon Lake? Are we a senior community who doesnt care about kids' programs and education, and are more worried about extra ambulance runs etc? Or are we a community of young families who want good schools and top notch kids' programs? You get what you pay for, period. If SS or disability is paying your rent, maybe you dont care about home values anymore? Personally I care. I dont have money growing on a tree either, but I'll find it when it comes to the betterment of where we live. So far I'm just not seeing the money mismanaged or squandered, as some people suggest.

I totally agree-MOVE, you can't have your cake and it it too! Guess why your house is valued at 3x or MORE thank Lorain? Good schhols, good schools=high taxes. In end its WELL worth it.

I typically agree with good schools = higher taxes but when do you say "you have enough"? This is a very large increase and it seems as if there is no problems with projects (traffic lights, remodeling, bus garage, stadium, etc). Now after all of those, they are broke and need more to continue their "existing budgets". Why is it so foreign that some of the items in the past 3 years haven't been good expenditures (in this economy).

Our city has lost businesses, We must ALL feel the effects, the schools saying "we can't possibly cut anymore" (see above examples) when businesses are closing is a fact they must accept. The mayor / council should be working hard(er) on bringing in new businesses. I've not heard of anything?

I can't possible vote for such a large increase for I don't feel the schools are at all fiscally responsible.

More money doesn't mean a better job, if that is the case then why do CEO's and VP's have golden parachutes to get get paid for doing a bad job? And Dan the salaries you cited are on par with other districts. Look at River and Bay who are ranked high like AL. And buses are needed for the kids. Also the teacher salaries can stay on hold another 2 years. I am coming up on 5 years with no salary increase and and increased work load while many of my peers have lost their jobs.. We have to continue with making due with what we have. And the parents have to be involved with their children studies to insure they do the best they can. And where is the mayor and city council on this? If they were more aggressive about bringing more business to AL then this would be a moot point.

Your missing the point, cut all adminstration salaryies, reduce sports to only three and make them pay $500 per sport. There is more than enough things to do for kids. Growing up never had access to all that kids have in Avon Lake. Most kids today live for computers and computer games. They have no idea how to organize friends for a pick up game of football, basketball, baseball.
Look at the abover salaries and you do not think they are overpaid.
Most seniors in Avon lake have raised their familes here and want to stay here. Why should they move. Wait until you reach retirement age and are living on a fixed income. Lets see what your idea will be towards levys like this. We paid for private education along with supporting the levys and now its time for us. Too much waste in the system, new bus garage, remodeld stadium, new turn arounds in the schools.
Your answer is everyone who do not support the levys are to move. If that is true
this levy will empty out half of Avon Lake

Dan we already have pay to play for all the sports. however they could raise money elsewhere. The price for student parking at HS is just $20 for the year. How about raising it to $100-150? And i just went in the new driveway last week, it really wasn't needed in my opinion. I think those who want the levy can pay for those who don't want it, that's fair right?

GOOD-then there will be more room for the deer and it will be safer to hunt them. Solves 2 problems!!!!

<p><a href="http://www.taosvacationhomes.com">Lodging in taos</a> - Thank you for the piece of news. I think that the decision of the school board is correct to a huge extent and thank you for explaining this so well.

Have read just about all of the comments and almost have to laugh. My kids went through the Avon Lake School system and in all those years I can't remember the school board asking for a levy of this magnitude. Now in my senior years (incidentally it seems to some people we don't exist and that it's all about newbies) after spending all of my money raising the family and paying off the mortgage the cost of living is so exhorbitant I have to worry every day about making it. Being self employed and money always being tight there wasn't much thought given to a retirement fund. I hope the people thinking this levy is so needed have socked away for their old age and will retain their hospitalization under their companies. I for one realize it is going to be much harder to get by with higher property taxes and my ever increasing hospitalization insurance. So good luck to all of you who see the need. Just don't grow old!