Streetsboro City Schools on Issue 22

Streetsboro City Schools are looking for voters to approve a bond issue, which would allow the district to rebuild its high school and renovate other school buildings. Issue 22, if passed, would require a fee of $14.76 a month on a $100,000 home. Alyssa Morlacci and Gabriel Kramer spoke with home owners about how they will vote during tomorrow’s election.

[rpavideo caption = “The Streetsboro City School District will gain a new high school building, plus other building renovations if the city passes Issue 22 on the November 5 ballot. TV2’s Gabriel Kramer met with Streetsboro’s residents to get their take on Issue 22.”]RPA_05_Kramer_Issue22[/rpavideo]

 An even divide between supporters and discourages

by Alyssa Morlacci

STREETSBORO, OH –Martin Fleming and Randi Kassin of Streetsboro will stop by the Faith Baptist Church Tuesday morning, but with different agendas.

Kassin, a mother of two, one in the second grade and one in pre-kindergarden, plans to vote yes on Issue 22, as her front yard alludes, hosting a yellow and blue sign that reads “VOTE YES” and “Building our future.”

Fleming, who has a grandchild in the Streetsboro City Schools system, however, plans to vote no. His yard is equipped with many signs printed with the text “Vote NO on School Issue” in a bold red.

By passing Issue 22, $38.7 million will be raised for the rebuild and renovations of the district’s school buildings. Twenty four million dollars in state money will be awarded to the district if the bond issue is passed and a .5-mill levy will also be installed, requiring owners of a $100,000 home pay $14.76 a month.

Signs in the yards of homes along State Route 303 show Issue 22 a mixture of support or disapproval.

However, Streetsboro City Schools Superintendent Michael Daulbaugh seems confident the issue will pass, replying to an interview request stating “I would be more than happy to visit with you after our issue passes on Tuesday.”

The city issued a poll in April, which was answered by close to 400 citizens. About 75 percent of participants said that they definitely support the bond issue to build a new high school and to renovate other buildings. However, 70 percent of those participants had school-aged children living in their household.

During a community presentation in early May, the schools displayed its plan to rebuild stating that the state will pay 35 percent of the construction effort.

[pullquote] “I want you to serve the kids who are in the school district now, not the kids who are going to be in the school district four years from now” [/pullquote]

The new high school is projected to cost $26.5 million. Renovations and additions to the middle school will cost about $14.7 million and the elementary school will cost $13.7 million. Total costs are projected to reach $68,706,345, 65 percent of which will be funded locally. This means the community will pay nearly $40 million for the project.

Special projects will include the building of a new auditorium in the high school that will cost close to $3 million and stadium improvements that will cost more than $1.5 million.

Kassin believes the passing of Issue 22 will be “well worth it, the tax is not that much per year and if anything it will increase our property value, which in the end we’ll benefit from that as well.”

However, Fleming would rather the schools focus on what they’re putting into the schools rather than what’s holding them together.

“I want you to serve the kids who are in the school district now, not the kids who are going to be in the school district four years from now,” Fleming said. “We need to meet the needs of the children today. We need to get them technology, we need to get the teachers technology.”