Fifth time proves to be the charm; school emergency operating levy passes

by JOHN LASKO

News-Times reporter

After three years, four failed attempts, and downright pleading with residents in Amherst and parts of Lorain and Amherst Township to pass an emergency operating levy, the fifth time proved to be the charm for the Amherst Exempted Village Schools.

"It's just been an incredible feeling and it's almost beyond words to describe this feeling," Amherst schools superintendent Steve Sayers said. "It has been so much fun to watch people rally together to support this issue and to make this thing happen."

School board president Valerie Neidert echoed Sayers sentiment in a written statement to the News-Times.

"On behalf of the Amherst Exempted Village Schools board of education, I would like to personally thank all of you for your support in helping us pass Issue 33," Neidert said. "We are thrilled with the outcome of the election and look forward to continuing the excellence in all areas of our school district."

The 6.9-mill emergency operating levy passed by 598 votes (6,276 yes to 5,678 no), a far different result from the 5.77-mill emergency operating levy on the March 4 ballot which failed by only four votes. An automatic recount failed to overturn the defeat.

Passage of the levy this time means the district will start collecting nearly $4 million additional funds annually for five years starting in January.

"In our current economic environment, we recognized that this required significant sacrifice," Sayers said. "This levy really demonstrates this community's commitment to provide a quality education and it's really just an honor and a privilege to be a part of this district and community."

The owner of a $100,000 home will pay an additional $211.28 per year in property taxes, while the owner of a $150,000 will pay an additional $316.99 annually.

According to unofficial results from the Lorain County Board of Elections, the levy had support from all areas of the district. Voters in Amherst approved the levy by 296 votes, in Lorain by 302 votes and by only eight votes in the parts of Amherst Township in the Amherst school district.

Passage of the levy will not allow the district to bring back the 56 administrative, teaching and support employees who were laid off in 2005 with the failure of a second 4.9-mill operating levy only by 70 votes. Sayers said this levy is all about preventing an additional $3 million from being cut from the operating budget in the 2009-2010 school year.

"This money will allow us to maintain our current level of programming," he said. "At this time we're not able to bring back programs that have previously been eliminated."

Sayers said he and the board are looking into evaluating some of the present cutbacks the district and the board were forced to make in 2005. Those include eliminating bussing for high school students and reducing busing for students in fifth through eighth grades. They will also take a look at possibly eliminating the early 7:30 a.m. start time for second and third graders at Powers Elementary School.

"We are going to take a comprehensive look at our overall transportation program and we're going to see if we can make some adjustments on an ongoing basis that will be a little more family friendly, in the most cost effective way," he said.

Sayers and the board are also looking at the possibility of putting a committee together to do away with the one-time pay-to-participate fee of $400 for extracurricular activities. Instead they are looking at establishing a flat fee which would be charged per sport or activity rather then having the standard fee to participate in as many sports or activities as possible.

"I think it's a good thing to do in terms of going back and reviewing what we're doing and why we are doing it," Sayers said. "We may just decide to continue doing the same thing or we may look at it and consider breaking this down to participate in one activity is 'X' amount of dollars, two activities is 'X' amount of dollars, three is 'X' amount of dollars and look at it that way."

However Sayers said until any decisions are made, everything implemented by the district is still in effect.

Chuck Winiarski, who chaired the Citizens for Amherst Schools campaign committee, whose daughter is a sixth grader at Nord Middle School, recruited nearly 300 parent volunteers who did everything from distributing yard signs and literature and talking with residents by going door to door or over the telephone. He said all the hours and the miles they logged on foot paid off.

"I don't have any words to describe it. It's incredible," Winiarski said, adding they originally had 35 people to stand at the polls holding signs in favor of the school levy, but by the afternoon and evening, that number jumped to 75.

"You talk about the number of people who volunteered, it's truly amazing and humbling. It was so cool," he said.

So while the Amherst School District celebrates a victory, Sayers hopes to strengthen the relationship between the schools and the community. He sees the passage of this operating levy as a beginning, not an end.

"We want to keep the momentum going," Sayers said. "What we want to do is continue to collaborate and work with our community. And our next step is going to bring together staff, students, businesses, community members to map out where we want to be five years."

This is an undertaking Sayers hopes to implement by the second half of this school year.