'Voter fatigue' noted in Genoa as board decides against request for additional funds

GENOA - Seeking to prevent what Genoa schools Superintendent Dennis Mock called "voter fatigue," the board of education last week chose not to ask for additional operating funds this year and instead will request renewal on Nov. 2 of a 3.9-mill levy that expires at the end of next year.

The vote was 4-0, with board member Laura Meinke absent.

The levy, which generates $605,000 annually, will expire after three years.

Voters will be asked to renew it for five years to give the district's funding situation more predictability in a time of state cutbacks to education.

Mr. Mock explained to the board that given the uncertainty of state funding, gauging the appropriate new millage to ask for would be impossible.

There was no point requesting new millage this year that might prove insufficient next year if the state made further cuts, he explained.

The district could be forced to ask for yet another new millage.

"One of the things we looked at was voter fatigue," he said.

The superintendent said in December he met with state officials in Columbus to learn more about funding.

Mr. Mock said he was told that information would be forthcoming, but, he added, "we don't know any more now in July than we knew in December."

Board President Tom Scheanwald said, "I've been at this for nine years. [Mr. Mock] has been at this a lot longer. Don't expect an answer from the state next year."

However, cautioned board member Al Brown: "We have to be careful that we don't take our renewals for granted. We're in a different world."

District treasurer Bill Nye said the extended 3.9-mill levy could appear on the ballot as a renewal because it would collect the same amount each year as is currently collected.

The board briefly talked about the merits of making the millage a continuing levy, which would extend indefinitely.

Mr. Mock strongly advised against this route.

"I think our clientele does not want to be taxed forever, and a continuous levy is a tax forever," he said.

The Genoa district is financially stable for now.

But Mr. Nye projects a $1.3 million operating deficit at the end of the 2012-to-2013 school year.

This shortfall would grow to $3 million the following school year.

The district has been on a cost-cutting campaign, trimming spending by $1.8 million since the 2003-2004 school year, with $788,000 of that amount realized in the past school year.

Spending for the coming year will be about $11.4 million.

In May, a request for a 1 percent earned income tax was rejected by 68 percent of voters.

In other business, the board approved paying Mike Thomas a $5,000 stipend to serve as co-athletic director and hiring Kellie Bryer and Cynthia Bekier as substitute bus drivers.

It also approved the high school golf team's overnight field trip to Bellville, Ohio, scheduled for Aug. 11.