Millions on the line for Streetsboro schools if proposed levy does not pass

After a failed attempt earlier in the spring, the Streetsboro City Schools is aiming to pass a continuing operating levy for regular expenses during the Nov. 4 election.

The levy would generate more than $3.8 million in revenue annually. That would cost homeowners about $175 per $100,000 of appraised property value. It would not cover any new expenses, but instead help fund preexisting programs throughout the district. 

“It’s funding salaries. It’s funding benefits, utilities, curriculum, materials, pretty much everything it takes to run the district … [The levy is] for the operation of the district. It’s not for anything special. It’s just to pay the bills that we have now,” said Jim Curtin, a chair of the Streetsboro Schools levy committee.

If the levy does not pass, Streetsboro schools would lose a minimum of $1 million each year, according to an Oct. 13 financial forecast presentation from Streetsboro City Schools Treasurer Brian Haines.

“Right now, we offer a good variety of options to our students, and if this doesn’t pass, it could potentially take away the many options that students have when it comes to athletics or electives,” Haines said.

For each sport a Streetsboro high school student participates in, there is currently a $150 pay-to-participate fee, and total family spending on pay-to-participate programs is capped at $450 each school year. While there is no set cost increase for pay-to-participate programs, the cost of student athletics is expected to increase if the levy fails.

“I don’t want my kids to have to go through what I did. I’d get into a sport and be fine, and then a levy wouldn’t pass. There was no way my parents could afford for me to play that sport again. I don’t want to see that for my kids,” Curtin said. “I know it would be very taxing on our family.”

Curtin is a parent to several children in Streetsboro schools, one of which is graduating this year.

“I’ve only been in the district for like, nine years, and I thought they’ve run it very well. I’ve been happy with what the kids have gotten to experience. And I want that to continue, but we can only do it for so long, and they’re doing great things on a skeleton budget now. I just would hate to lose that,” Curtin said.

If social media is any indication, the levy has drawn at least some mixed opinions from Streetsboro residents. A Facebook group in support of the levy–YES for Streetsboro Schools Levy–had 534 followers as of Oct. 30. A group opposing the levy–Vote No – Streetsboro School Levy–had 28.

The opposing group has made several posts denouncing the levy and any new property taxes. One such post shared a blog post written by Streetsboro resident Rod Flauhaus, who wrote about his experience at a district Finance Committee meeting.

“Much of the meeting centered on salaries and comparisons to other districts. But telling a community where many residents earn around $45,000 a year that higher-paid staff need more money, or that they should shoulder permanent tax increases to offset premium health plans, is tone-deaf at best,” Flauhaus wrote.