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Northwestern levy on Tuesday’s ballot

Passage would allow school officials to reinstate cuts the board has made.

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By Megan Gildow, Staff Writer Updated 7:01 PM Friday, July 30, 2010

GERMAN TWP. — Northwestern residents will vote Tuesday, Aug. 3, on a 7.8-mill substitute levy that would not increase property taxes.

Passage of the levy will allow school officials to reinstate cuts the board made in early July. The cuts include physical education, foreign language and music teachers, and freshman and junior varsity athletics, said Superintendent Tony Orr.

“The substitute renewal levy, which is not a tax increase, is important to keep current programs intact,” said he. “The programs help students be successful and they include support to the students inside the classroom and outside of it.”

A substitute levy allows districts to combine two or more renewal levies into one vote, limiting trips to the ballot for future renewals. Northwestern is asking voters to approve a substitute levy combining two renewals: a $465,000 levy and a $1.2 million levy.

The two levies comprise about 12 percent of the district’s annual operating budget, said Orr.

The board of education has approved cuts to the family liaison, high school librarian, high school choir teacher, in-school suspension aide, middle school gifted teacher and elementary music teacher, as well as reducing half-time for the athletic director, elementary physical education teacher and elementary custodian and three of seven periods for a high school foreign language teacher.

If the district is unable to secure approval of a renewal before the end of the year, the $465,000 levy would expire this year. The $1.2 million levy expires at the end of 2011.

Voting will occur 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

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