Superintendent's Article - November 20, 2008

For John McCain, Barack Obama, and many other candidates and issues, the 2008 November General Election is over. However, Louisville City School District is still waiting for the final election results and will be waiting for some time. The results for Issue 56, a 2.8 mill bond issue for new and renovated schools, are still unknown. The issue currently leads by just 7 votes and there are over 500 paper and provisional ballots that have yet to be counted. The results of the election will not be certified by the Board of Elections until November 25, and a possible recount will extend the date for final results until December 5. This is truly an indication that in our democracy each and every vote does count.

The closeness of the election is surprising to many as the increase in property taxes would have been less than $28 per year for the owner of a $100,000 home and the state would have provided the district with over $37 million for Louisville Schools. If the bond issue fails, the Board of Education has already determined that the issue will not go before the voters in February but could possibly be on the ballot in May. The district has until September of 2009 to provide the local share of the project before those dollars are released to another Ohio school district and Louisville loses the opportunity for state funds. The Board of Education hoped to offset the cost of the 2.8 mill bond issue by not collecting a current permanent improvement tax of 1.9 mills. The net increase of voted millage with the passage of Issue 56 would have been only 0.9 mills. The Board was very much aware of our tough economic conditions and the difficult circumstances facing many of our residents and property owners. It was hoped that many property owners could find the way to fund less than 8 cents a day for our children and Louisville Schools.

If the bond issue does pass, planning will begin immediately on a new elementary school and renovations at Louisville High School. The proposed plan was supported by those who came to the polls on Election Day (53% in favor) but did not fare well with those voters who cast absentee ballots (57% against). Many believe the construction project, estimated at $8.5 million of local money and $37 million of state money, will provide jobs and opportunities for local contractors and labor. The election is still too close to call and passage of the issue is critical for the future of our school district.

Many thanks are due to those individuals and groups of people in our community who actively supported passage of the issue. The recent history of Louisville School District ballot issues is very poor and this is the first election in several years that seemed to garner the support and enthusiasm of the community. Many other school districts in Stark County were not successful, but the news across Ohio was very different as over 60% of school ballot issues were successful. It is certainly worth taking the time to further review, analyze and discuss the results of the election in the upcoming weeks and months prior to the Board of Education having to take possible action to place the issue back on the ballot in May.

Your thoughts, questions and comments about the bond issue are greatly appreciated and welcomed. Please call or send to David Redd, Superintendent at (330) 875-1666 or email at dredd@louisville.sparcc.org.