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“We have some of our youngest kids—five-year olds going into
kindergarten—that are walking some very long distances and
crossing some very busy roads,” she said. “Not every parent
has the funds to for a bus pass to put a kindergartener on a
bus.”
“If kids are having to travel multiple miles as well as
provide unsafe conditions, a lot of times they’re not going
to get themselves there,” echoed Romules Durant, Ed.D,TPS
superintendent. “So safety is a priority, based on the
winter we just saw. Kids went through treacherous
conditions.”
“It‘s not just for our district. It’s for the entire city
of Toledo,” said TPS board member Chris Varwig, citing state
law, which requires the school district to provide the same
bus service to students who attend charter schools or other
schools on state vouchers.
School board members also cited the need to be able to
recruit and retain talented teachers and administrators,
many of whom are trained by TPS and leave for more lucrative
career opportunities in suburban school districts. Part of
the levy would be used to restore past contract concessions,
as well as provide flexibility for pay raises.
“We’re trying to make a step—just a step—toward restoring
some of that compensation,” said Bob Vasquez, TPS board vice
president. “This is not going to totally do it. It is only a
step in that direction. It’s only a step towards being
competitive. It is not going to make us totally
competitive.”
“Other districts can hire them, including in other states,
that can pay a signing bonus, something of which we don’t
have in Toledo Public Schools,” said Sobecki. “They actually
have moving expenses they can pay folks to come and work in
their district, which we don’t have. It’s imperative we have
competitive wages for our employees.”
Durant also cited “multiple innovations” that district
leaders intend to bring forward, including the Leadership
Academy, which would place single-gender academies in
separate wings of the former Samuel E. Jones at Gunckel Park
elementary school.
Events will be held, the superintendent explained, that
would allow young men and women to participate “in
appropriate interactions,” such as debates, business and
entrepreneurial clubs, among others. Durant stated that such
innovations are planned with the intent of bringing students
back to TPS.
The district has lost an estimated 11,000 students in recent
years: more than 9,000 attend charter schools and the
state’s school voucher program makes up the remainder of the
losses. But TPS leaders, despite the continued drain on
district finances, maintain they’ve been able to stem the
tide of defections to other educational opportunities by
offering more choices.
TPS has not received new levy dollars since 2001. The
proposed tax issue would cost the
owner of a $100,000 home $203 annually. Voters rejected a
levy in 2012 that would have meant additional tax revenue.
School districts in Ohio have traditionally had a difficult
time getting voters to approve new-money levies, especially
as homeowners bear a greater burden in funding local schools
because of state government budget cuts.
“Superintendents should be campaigning every day of the
year. I go to churches every Sunday. I go to multiple events
and stay connected in regard to what’s going on in the
community with regard to faith-based and business,” said
Durant. “I’ve been to every Rotary, every chamber of
commerce and every association. I’ll just be coming to do a
second round to those locations as well. When the community
feels a connection to the schools, then they feel there’s a
buy-in, a vested interest in support of schools.”
“I think that we’ve demonstrated that we really should have
the support of the community because we’re well into the
transformation plan and we have some priorities that we need
to address. I think we can talk with the community and get
the community’s support,” said Vasquez, while also calling
tax levies “unpopular” but “something we have to do.”
“I’m hoping the voters will be informed, engaged, and
listen,” said Sobecki.
However, the TPS levy may be just one of four levies facing
Toledo voters in November. Three other agencies also are
seeking leaves, two of which would be funding increases:
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The Lucas County
Mental Health
Recovery and Services Board is looking to voters to
renew a 10-year, 0.50-mill levy to serve an estimated
26,000 people facing mental illness or addiction;
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The Lucas County Children Services Board is seeking to
replace a five-year, 1.4-mill levy with a seven-year,
1.9-mill tax issue, two years before it is set to
expire;
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The Area Office on Aging of Northwestern Ohio wants a
five-year renewal of a 0.45-mill levy set to expire at
year’s end, with an increase of 0.15 mills to serve the
county’s senior population, which has grown by
double-digits since 2010.
All three agencies recently presented their proposals to the
Lucas County Citizens Levy Review Committee, which will make
recommendations to Lucas County Commissioners, who, in turn,
will have final say over whether those levies will be placed
on the Nov. ballot.
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