Greenon considers November levy

Greenon Local Schools Board of Education members are set to vote tonight on whether to place two operating levies on the Nov. 4 ballot.

At a June 11 special meeting, the board members discussed the district’s financial forecast and approaching budget deficit. They asked district Treasurer Brad McKee to prepare two resolutions of necessity to put the levies before voters.

“Even after cutting our budget by $1.2 million over the last three years, (we are) facing an operating deficit due to decreased state funding and increasing costs of doing business,” McKee said. “Without new money, Greenon will have to continue to make cuts to balance the budget, or face fiscal oversight by the state.”

The first of the two resolutions relates to an existing levy that generates $1.8 million dollars annually for district operations. It would be a renewal of the levy, McKee said, and wouldn’t increase taxes.

The second resolution would place a 4.96-mill, five-year operating levy on the Nov. 4 ballot. That would be identical to the request rejected by voters during the May 6 election. That property tax request failed last month by 59 votes.

If approved, that levy would provide an additional $1.2 million a year for operations of the district. It would cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $174 a year.

“Both of these issues are critical to continuing to offer a quality education to the children in our community,” McKee said.

Greenon board members will vote on placing those requests before voters during a meeting at 7 p.m. today in the media center at Indian Valley Middle School.

About the Author