The Villager Newspaper Online Your Community News – Cleveland's Westshore
Westlake Schools are excellent but without this levy that excellence is at risk.
Our graduates are prepared to excel in college and the w orkforce.
Our schools are consistently rated in the top 5% out of all Ohio schools.
This 5.9-mill levy will cost $15 per month per $100,000 in home valuation.
Our schools lost over $4.2 million in state funding in the last two years.
The schools cut 17 positions & reduced programming to account for the state
reductions. This lev y will prevent further cuts that w ill negatively impact educational
excellence.
In 2006, the schools committed to making the operating levy last 4 years. Through
diligent planning, it’s been 7 years since the last operating levy – an extra 3 years.
Our schools have already made deep cuts to address funding reductions.
Our schools hav e cut over $4 million in spending by reducing staff, eliminating high
school bussing, and reducing training and other costs.
The new teachers’ contract w ill save over $5.5 million by reducing salaries, increasing
employee health care contributions by 50% and requiring additional w ork days.
Westlake Schools are accountable and fiscally responsible.
The school district earned its 5th consecutive perfect audit last year w ith no findings
and has been recognized for a clean audit for the last 18 years.
When completed, the new buildings will be more energy efficient and cost less to
operate, sav ing taxpayer money while maximizing education opportunity.
Our schools w ere recently recognized by the State as a top school district for sharing
serv ices in order to operate more cost effectively.
With this operating levy, our schools keep what Westlake residents expect:
-Keep current programming without making even deeper cuts
– Avoid making further cuts to educational necessities
-Maintain excellent educational opportunities to ensure our students can compete in
the global economy and
-Avoid further cuts to transportation services
The quality of our schools affects the quality of our community and we must protect the
excellent education our residents expect.
Excellent schools make Westlake a more attractive place to live.
Maintaining the quality we have come to expect from our schools is a vital part of
maintaining our property values.
This May please remember to vote!
