Replacement levy sought for school improvements

GIBSONBURG – During a special election Tuesday, district voters will vote on a permanent improvement levy that would help repair, maintain and improve school grounds.

Newly hired school Superintendent Tim Murray, who served as the district’s high school principal last year, said passing the 2-mill levy would allow the school to replace leaky doors, upgrade technology and add lighting to the schools’ parking lots.

“The levy will raise $200,000 annually,” Murray said. “This money will not go towards salaries.”

Most state tests are done using computers, and the state is pushing to ensure students in elementary school are computer-literate. The computer component to the levy would cost $41,368.

“We want to have a one-to-one computer system where all sophomores would get a laptop,” Murray said.

If the 2-mill levy is passed, Murray said the board will ask the county auditor to drop a 1-mill levy that was passed in 1980.

Murray said the 1-mill levy forced the district to spend $145,279 during the 2014-15 school year from the general fund to cover expenses.

The levy will cost an owner of a $100,000 home $70 per year, which is $5.83 per month.

Among the other purchases to be made if the levy is passed are a new school bus, which will cost the district $90,000, and door repairs to the high school’s gymnasium.

“The schools are only 12 years old. We want to keep them up to date because the district deserves it,” Murray said.

cshoup@gannett.com

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