JOHNSTOWN — The Johnstown-Monroe school board is asking district residents to approve two tax issues on the March 4 ballot. One is a 5-mill property tax levy to be used for general, ongoing permanent improvements, the other is an additional three-quarter percent school income tax to be used for current operating expenses.
Due to ever-increasing costs and despite major cost-containment measures, levy chairman Todd Dodderer said, “The two levies we have on are a must if the Johnstown community wants to reverse the physical decline of our schools and bring our academic curriculum above state minimum.”
Issue 13 on the ballot would establish a three-quarter percent school income tax for five years. Superintendent Damien Bawn said passage of this issue will allow the district to reinstate busing within three-quarters of a mile of the schools for all students in kindergarten through grade eight, and within one mile for high school students.
“The revenue will also allow the district to renew physical education and other academic programs that have been cut,” Bawn said. “Additionally, this money will help us continue to achieve high standards, meet the mandates of the Ohio CORE and STEM programs, and help bring back some of the educational choices that have been lost through cuts made at the high school.”
Issue 14 is a 5-mill permanent improvement levy being requested for a five-year period. Revenue from this issue would repair and replace leaking roofs, support cleanup and refurbishing all buildings, and provide for attention to issues that compromise the safety and integrity of the district’s school buildings.
“Applying this money to areas related to long-term maintenance, now and in the future,” Bawn said, “will also allow us to use more general fund money on the classrooms and in support of learning.
“Taken together, these issues will help assure the district’s future,” he said. “They are bare necessity and the least we can do to maintain a quality program. ... With the passage of these issues, our work together will focus on maintaining full fiscal responsibility while striving to create the world-class education our children must have to thrive.”