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Brunswick, Cloverleaf, Wadsworth measures pass
By John Higgins
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Wednesday, Nov 05, 2008
Medina County was kind to schools in a tough economic environment, passing renewal levies for the Cloverleaf and Brunswick districts and a bond issue for Wadsworth.
Voters in Wadsworth approved a 5.9-mill bond issue to build three new elementary schools and a new high school.
The schools joined the city, library and Summa Wadsworth-Rittman Hospital in a partnership to build a new high school that would come with a new city recreation center, a senior center, medical offices and a satellite public library — all on the school campus.
''We're not only excited to win, we're exceedingly happy to accomplish that in a challenging economy we face,'' said school superintendent Dale Fortner. ''It was a formidable task.''
He gave credit to the nearly 200 volunteers who helped explain the complex and unique partnership.
Wadsworth is taking a unique approach to raising money to build new schools.
It's been working with the city, the library and Summa Wadsworth-Rittman Hospital since learning that the Ohio School Facilities Commission projected that Wadsworth will soon be eligible for state money for new schools if it could raise its local share.
The commission has told Wadsworth that it will fund just over a third of the school project, leaving Wadsworth responsible for the other 64 percent.
In addition to the bond levy, the local share will come from proceeds of the Medina sales tax increase that was approved by voters last May to fund construction in the county's school districts.
Cloverleaf's 5.7-mill renewal levy also passed Tuesday night after failures last November and in March. Voters also approved Brunswick's 5.5-mill renewal.
Other school districts seeking property tax renewals (not new taxes) were Twinsburg in Summit County; Perry in Stark County; Rootstown, Garfield and Windham in Portage County; and Southeast in Wayne County.
Twinsburg, Southeast and the Portage County issues passed. Results for other levies were not conclusive at press time.
Wadsworth was one of nine area school districts that asked voters for additional property taxes — a tough proposition given the global financial crisis and topsy turvy stock market this fall.
Stow-Munroe Falls and Tallmadge in Summit County were hoping the third time was the charm after losing issues in March and August elections. Northwest, mostly in Stark County, already is in fiscal caution and risks state takeover if it cannot pass a 12.8-mill levy.
Stow-Munroe Falls failed again. Tallmadge was narrowly failing with all but one precinct counted.
The Northwest school board met election night and approved the first steps toward putting the same issue on the February ballot in case this one failed, the district's new superintendent, William Stetler, said.
Other districts seeking new property tax money were Nordonia Hills and Norton in Summit County; Louisville and Jackson in Stark County and Field in Portage County. Norton failed.
Fairless school district in Navarre in Stark County was trying to pass a 1 percent income tax.
Northwest hasn't passed an operating levy for new taxes in 16 years. Voters have turned down the last six levy requests, plus a district income tax.
Superintendent William Stetler warned residents that state takeover is a real possibility.
Northwest already is close to Ohio's minimum standards in such areas as the ratio of teachers to students, and much deeper cuts there would jeopardize state funding.
''It's as simple as that,'' Stetler told the Beacon Journal in September. ''You can't get any more blood out of that turnip.''
Northwest cut $1.5 million from its $18 million budget last year and an additional $2 million since 2005.
John Higgins can be reached at 330-996-3792 or jhiggins@thebeaconjournal.com.
Medina County was kind to schools in a tough economic environment, passing renewal levies for the Cloverleaf and Brunswick districts and a bond issue for Wadsworth.
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