Getting The Facts on the Avon Lake School Levy

As Election Day draws closer and those on either side of a ballot issue present opinions intended to sway the voter, one must be sure to have accurate and complete information. The Avon Lake School District Levy, Issue 10, has been placed on the ballot to replace revenue lost from decisions made at the state level and from the result of decisions to devalue and ultimately close the GenOn Power Plant. Revenue guaranteed by past state legislators was taken away as a new administration entered the Statehouse in January of 2011 in a way which could not have been foreseen based on past legislative history. 

In making a decision to vote for or against a school levy, it is important to consider the value earned for money already spent and the likeliness that future dollars paid to a school district will be spent wisely and effectively.

Click here to see how much money each disrict in Cuyahoga and Lorain County spends per student, and the results. You may be suprised.

The Avon Lake City School District has proven that tax payers and students attending the schools will receive the ultimate value for each dollar spent. Even before these devastating decisions were made by our state legislators, the Avon Lake CSD Superintendent, Treasurer, and Board of Education were vigilant in reducing expenditures through program attrition (reducing staff), consolidation of services with other districts, and a reduction of expenses from earning higher bond ratings; this ultimately allowed the district to refinance its debt obligations at a lower interest rate due to diligent financial management. As with all decisions made by district administrators, efforts to reduce costs were done so in a way that would least impact the education and safety of the students.

An analysis of recent financial information and the Ohio State Report Card provide the best information to judge the effectiveness of past and future decisions made by a school district. In a comparison of the Avon Lake City School District with all schools in Lorain and Cuyahoga County, the following can be noted:

• Avon Lake CSD is #33 of 45 school districts in Cuyahoga and Lorain Counties for total per-pupil-expenditures (32 districts spend more and 12 districts spend less). 71% of school districts in Cuyahoga and Lorain Counties spend more than Avon Lake.
• Only 14 of the 45 schools in Cuyahoga and Lorain County, including Avon Lake, earned a rating of "Excellent With Distinction" on the Ohio State Report Card.
• Of the 12 districts which spend less than Avon Lake, only 3 earned a rating of "Excellent With Distinction.
• Of the 32 districts which spend more than Avon Lake, only 11 (34%) earned an "Excellent With Distinction" rating.

In addition:

• Avon Lake HS was rated 22nd among Ohio’s 892 schools based on scores in reading and math, the degree to which students are prepared for post-graduate education, and overall student performance on mandatory state assessments. This puts Avon Lake HS in the top 3% statewide and nationally.
• Redwood Elementary School ranked 25th of 3,457 schools throughout the state of Ohio for the highest performance index (111.9)
• Learwood Middle School was named a Blue Ribbon School by the US Department of Education. A visiting government official called Learwood "a national model of excellence", and stated that “What you have to realize here at Learwood Middle School is you have an enormous gift of a great educational school and a great educational system.”
• The Avon Lake City School District has been named to the Best 100 Communities in America for Music Education by the NAMM Foundation.

 You must decide how to cast your vote on May 7. We believe that the Avon Lake City Schools have more than proven their willingness to provide the highest level of education for our students while doing so in an efficient, cost-effective manner. The above accolades would make any school district proud and confirm that every penny in the district budget has been spent wisely. The community of Avon Lake has never been one to accept a second-rate education for its children. The failure of this levy would make it impossible to provide anything close to what we presently provide our children.

There is a great deal of information being thrown around about the Avon Lake CSD Levy which uses arbitrary figures, invalid comparisons, and inferences that our school administrators have not been good stewards of your tax dollars - this could not be further from the truth. Should you see or hear any information which runs contrary to what has been presented by the Avon Lake CSD, please call Superintendent, Bob Scott, Treasurer, Autumn Streng or any of the district Board of Education members to verify this information and confirm that it has been presented in the appropriate context.