Possible School Levy In May Could Be As High 4.0 Mil

[Thealexa Becker]

Thealexa

It is my understanding that the capital improvements for buildings comes from Bond Issues not a tax
levy. This money is basically slated to administrative costs and programs. The reason why the
the High school has remained unfinished is the money owed to Lakewood already from the state
that we do not get until the rest until the project is completed, now somewhere between $40 and
$50 million. When we get the money, it is used to retire the Bond. In effect the Bond is a 28 year
loan with interest. Voting for bond issue is simply put, authorizing the schools to borrow that fixed
amount from lenders, with the residents of Lakewood backing the debt.

Bond money cannot be used for operating expenses, however Levy money can be used for buildings.

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That's some pretty fine financial purple prose right there. While I already knew the difference between a levy and a bond, and I realize the high school was a bond, that doesn't really answer my question.

So again, why isn't the high school done? Why isn't more being done to finish it? If there isn't more that can be done, whose fault is it? Why should my family vote for this levy when the district can't even finish the high school with a bond of all things, probably one of the safest asset classes in existence outside of an oil well, a mountain of gold or cash under your mattress?

These are the questions I would like answered. And if the answer is just "well this was a 28 year bond so it's going to take us 28 years to finish a building" which is what it seems like, then that is pathetic because it indicates that Lakewood's School District screwed something up because that school should have been done ages ago. So was it incompetence? Bad planning? Ohio screwed us over? Apathy? Bad luck? All of the above?

[Jim O'Bryan]

These are the questions I would like answered. And if the answer is just "well this was a 28 year bond so it's going to take us 28 years to finish a building" which is what it seems like, then that is pathetic because it indicates that Lakewood's School District screwed something up because that school should have been done ages ago. So was it incompetence? Bad planning? Ohio screwed us over? Apathy? Bad luck? All of the above?

Thealexa

In a Vacuum the answer would be easy. It could be any one of the many things you
mentioned, with a little spice thrown in just to make it perfect.

Much of what you see in politics, and levies, bonds, school boards and everything that flows
out of them is political in nature. Politics especially in this day and age is all about charades,
smoke, mirrors, and offsetting public perception.

Perhaps, and this is not based in any known "fact" but perhaps they have left the high
school until last because it is the building we all want finished, thereby making Bond issues
easier to swallow as we chase the carrot?

We are ending a $25,000,000 dollar rebuild of our schools that will be far closer to $100
million plus. I would say that neither the city nor the schools could have swallowed that
Bond issue all at one time. So even though they knew where it was headed, it is hard to
convince taxpayers to raise their taxes by a couple thousand dollars over the next 5-10
years, and get money for levies and tax hikes from city hall. So it was decided to handle
all of this in different stages or phases.

While I find much of this tactic completely disingenuous, the "planners" would say it is the
only way to make the project a reality. One could argue if we needed all the schools rebuilt
one could argue to what extent, if we needed thousands of miles of copper wire or Wfi.
If Garfield needed to be historical reminiscent of old Garfield or not, and on and on and on.
However the very real fact is we are 2/3rds through the project, and it makes NO SENSE
to even consider not finishing it, because the school that needed it most, the High School,
is still unfinished.

Why rebuild buildings and schools and then leave them unfunded? Without teachers or
programs? Without the tools needed to educate people so that we end up with more
Thealexas and fewer Jim O'Bryans?

I will continue later but lunch with John Gorman for now.

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[Jim O'Bryan]

Why rebuild buildings and schools and then leave them unfunded? Without teachers or
programs? Without the tools needed to educate people so that we end up with more
Thealexas and fewer Jim O'Bryans?

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM pulled pork at the WestEnd Tavern!

Where was I...

Oh yeah, no matter how you feel about many of these things the facts are, this levy which
will be less that 4.0 mil is still needed to make up the shortfall from the state funding. That
is to keep the schools at the level you enjoyed, and benefited from.

I am actually disappointed that it will be less than 4.0 mil. some of the people I have
talked with about this, were hoping they would have the nerve to ask for 8-12 mil so that
gains could be made. Bring back some things that had been cut from curriculum in the
past bring on more teachers to keep classes smaller, new equipment.

Then there are the teachers, no matter what Bill Call would lead you to believe not only
do they have a full work day, they have all held off on raises for the last two contracts,
though they do receive their STEP. So I would have to believe at some time they will come
asking for more, not of this levy per say, but for something.

Then there is a Bond Issue also down the road to finish the buildings, and maintain them.
As of right now the state is slated to pay for 31% of needed improvements. A term that
could possibly find them paying less. But unfinished schools make no sense, and really do
not add to the value of homes or living in a community.

It should be interesting.

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