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Officials: operations levy will be back on ballot

CALCUTTA — Beaver Local school officials are asking residents for a yes vote for a second time this spring as the emergency operations levy renewal will return to the ballot.

On Monday, the school board approved a motion to place the levy renewal — this time at 4.618 mills — on the May 7 primaries. The motion was approved, 3-0, with both Lance Shultz and Patrick Clutter absent.

Last month, the board approved a resolution to request from the county auditor to determine the exact millage required to raise $1.2 million annually, the most allowed by law and the dollar value that will be generated if approved, with the incoming monies to go towards the district’s operations to cover maintenance, utilities and staff salaries.

Because this is a renewal, there will be no increase to taxes to residents in the school district.

“We know the importance of that to the district,” Superintendent Eric Lowe said. “It is, once again, nothing new to our taxpayers, but it is imperative that we pass that. We’re going to make sure we get the information out to people and know that they’re well-informed. We manage our dollars efficiently and we are very appreciative that we have this beautiful building, but those dollars are completely different than the monies it takes to provide the services and learning opportunities that we want to provide to our students.”

This will be the district’s second attempt at passing the renewal levy after voters turned down the levy this past November by a 95-vote margin with over 5,000 votes cast. The levy itself does not expire until the end of this year, and the district is still able to collect monies on it until then.

Meanwhile, prior to the regular meeting, the board held its reorganizational meeting, which saw a change in leadership but otherwise little difference from last year.

The board selected Jerry Barnett as its president for this year, along with Greg Eisenhart as the board’s vice president. Barnett was nominated by Eisenhart for the president seat, while Bill Croxall — who served as board president in 2018 — nominated Eisenhart to second-in-command. With no objections or other nominations, both recommendations were approved, 3-0.

Eisenhart will also serve as this year’s district’s liaison for the Ohio School Boards Association, serving as a link between the state and local school boards, while Croxall will serve as the district’s OSBA student achievement liaison for the year.

Committee assignments, meanwhile, will remain the same for 2019 with the board approving not to make any changes from last year.

Those assignments included Barnett and Clutter for the Transportation Committee and Community Advisory; Shultz and Eisenhart for Curriculum; Croxall and Eisenhart for Athletic Committee/Booster Clubs and Buildings and Grounds; Eisenhart and Barnett for Cafeteria; Croxall and Clutter for Labor Management/Negotiations; and Eisenhart solely handling Policy.

Also not changing this year was the board’s service fund, which was approved to remain at $7,500. Under Ohio Revised Code school boards may approve up to $2 per student or a maximum of $20,000 for a service fund, set at the beginning of the year to cover expenses for attending seminars, workshops and other business involving the district.

In addition, the board’s monthly meetings will continue to be held at 7 p.m. on the second Monday of each month and will be held at the Eighth Grade Pod, located on the second floor of the K-12 building. Work sessions will continue to be held 30 minutes prior to the regular meeting.

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