WADSWORTH, Ohio — Wadsworth City Schools Superintendent Andy Hill said the district is taking a different approach to build support for its upcoming school levy tax initiative after falling short of the votes needed in the spring election.
This includes lowering the requested earned income tax amount from 1.5% to 1% and changing the previous permanent language to only five years.
“If this issue were to be successful, it will set us up well into the future and right now,” said Hill. “I think that our school district is very much identified by the support that we have historically had.”
As a parent, Jacquie Crescenzo said she plans to support the district’s levy because she’s concerned about potential cuts.
“The one that I was most concerned about would be kindergarten, where families would have to pay to send their children for full-day kindergarten, and that would create such a divide,” said Crescenzo.
So far, district treasurer Doug Beeman said the district has made about $4.5 million in reductions, which impacted Christina Weese and her family.
“Our granddaughter attended one of the elementary schools in Wadsworth. There are several different schools, and because the past levy didn’t pass, she had to be relocated to a different school within the district,” said Weese.
“We’ve had a lot of challenges recently, particularly with state aid,” said Beeman. “Twenty-six teachers and administrators, numerous support staff positions that were reduced this year.”
Beeman understands why some people may vote against the levy due to financial pressures.
But he hopes they can get enough votes to generate about $8.8 million annually.
This way, leaders said the district could avoid making more cuts like reducing staff and student transportation, closing neighborhood elementary schools and making kindergarten families pay for their child’s education.
“Our goal is really to just be able to provide information, be able to answer questions, be able to direct the community to documents that they may want to review for themselves to be able to make an informed decision,” said Hill.
