Issue 13: North Ridgeville Schools substitute levy

Issue 13 What it is: 11.72-mill substitute tax levy Duration: 10 years How much it would raise: About $10.6 million annually Purpose: To raise around 40 percent of the district's local operating funds Cost to homeowner: Nothing over current rate of $358.93 a year for the owner of a $100,000 home NORTH RIDGEVILLE — After its substitute levy was rejected by voters in last November's general election, North Ridgeville Schools is trying again with a key difference the district believes will make it more appealing to taxpayers. The levy failed by 120 votes in November. The district believes that levy's "continuing" duration — meaning it would not have to appear before voters for approval again — was a turnoff for those wary of committing to funding the operations indefinitely. Burges & Burges Strategists, a firm that analyzed November's election results for the district, previously advised that some voters pulled support because of the continuing duration. This time, the substitute levy will have a 10-year duration. "We heard pretty loud and clear that the community wanted the opportunity to come back and evaluate our school district," Superintendent Roxann Ramsey-Caserio said. "We changed the term of this substitute levy to 10 years." What has not changed is the fact that the levy would replace four current operating levies that account for 40 percent of North Ridgeville Schools' local operating dollars but are set to expire in the coming years. Two of the emergency levies that would be replaced expire in 2020, one expires in 2022 and another in 2023. While homeowners would not see any increase in taxes over what they pay now, taxes also would not decrease as new construction is completed in the city. Rather, the school district would "capture" the growth of the city, generating more money as homes and commercial properties are built. Ramsey-Caserio said the levy eventually could double its yield generating "closer to $20 million, assuming construction remains stable throughout the next 10 years." In November, the district tried the substitute levy alongside a school improvement bond issue that would have provided funds to build a new high school and elementary school. The bond issue also failed. This time, Ramsey-Caserio said the focus is directed at making sure the schools have money to maintain their essential services. "Until this issue is addressed, we can't really think through a building project," she said. "We need to stabilize our operating dollars and then think through the future of our buildings." If the levy were to fail again and none of the four operating levies are renewed individually, the district would begin losing money in January 2021. At the beginning of the 2021-22 school year, $4.6 million in cuts would be in order. Ramsey-Caserio said the district already runs "a very tight ship" and cuts could hit the school's staffing, transportation and supplies. She said the district tries to be responsible with the money it is given. "Despite — over the last 10 years, our population growing by over 700 students — we still were operating at the same funding level locally," she said. Contact Dylan Reynolds at (440) 329-7123 or dreynolds@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @drey1357.