Chardon Schools turning to voters to raise operating funds

Chardon School District voters who cast ballots in the May 8 Primary Election will again decide whether to approve an additional operating levy, according to the Geauga County Elections Board.

Issue 3 is a 3.9-mill, additional levy that, if passed, would raise $2.5 million annually for a continuing period of time and cost the owners of $100,000 in property valuation $136.50 per year, the Geauga County Auditor’s Office reports.

A similar levy on the Nov. 7 ballot failed by a margin of 3,688 to 3,254 votes, according to final results from the Elections Board.

Following that levy’s defeat at the polls, Chardon Schools officials and levy advocates embarked on numerous campaigns to raise awareness among community members and schooldistrict constituents about why the district is asking for the additional tax dollars.

A few days after that election, levy promoters and others from the school district traveled to Columbus to meet with state Rep. John Patterson, D-Jefferson, whose district includes Chardon Schools, and state Rep. Sarah LaTourette, RChester Township, in hopes that they’ll make an impression on Ohio officials that $1 million in funding cuts is a tough pill to swallow for Chardon’s schools.

That pilgrimage precipitated a Jan. 18 townhall meeting at Chardon Middle School that included concerned parents, community members, school staff and other district constituents and a panel of government officials

That forum focused on the challenges not only Chardon Schools, but state lawmakers and school districts all over Ohio, face securing and managing school funding, which is what school officials say lie at the heart of the district’s current budgetary concerns.

Hanlon summed up the issues in a Nov. 11 e-mail exchange.

“Our district has been impacted by budget reductions instituted by the Ohio Legislature over the last several years,” he writes. “Significantly, in the most recent biennial budget, legislative action eliminated approximately one million dollars per year in state support beginning in 2017-18 and every year thereafter. Issue 3 will help address that budgetary shortfall in the future.”

He added that the district has undertaken numerous initiatives to help preserve its fiscal responsibility but declining enrollment and losing a big chunk of state funding makes that increasingly tough to do while working to provide students a high-quality education.

“Our school district continues to take a responsible view regarding fiscal operations,” he writes. “The district reconfiguration plan — in response to declining enrollment and loss of operating revenue — will include the closure of two elementary schools and will help reduce operational costs by an estimated 1.5 to 2 million dollars per year.”

But the superintendent says more is needed.

“Reconfiguration is a significant step in securing our fiscal future but does not fully address the long-term needs of the district,” his message reads. “Issue 3 is critical to achieving a longterm stable fiscal future and ensure that high quality educational programs and experiences continue to be available to the students in Chardon Schools.”

There are 15,773 voters eligible to vote on Issue 3, the Geauga County Elections Board reports.