2 town halls set for Rossford levy proposals

9/14/2010

Two town hall-style meetings will be held by a group in the Rossford school district that says it has concerns about decisions made by the school board and administrators.

At issue is a 5.99-mill bond levy on the November ballot expected to generate $50 million over 37 years. Proceeds would be used to build a central elementary school on the site of the high school and middle school, which will be demolished, with a replacement high school and middle school constructed on a single campus elsewhere.

The meetings will be held from 7-9:30 p.m. Thursday and from 2-4:30 p.m. Sunday at the Rossford Eagles hall, 658 Lime City Rd.

According to a news release from the Coalition for Effective and Efficient Rossford Schools, "The intent is to communicate facts to the Rossford school district citizens so they can make an informed decision regarding the bond issue."

The release says the bond issue is controversial because it calls for new schools in new locations and a large commitment in tough economic times. In addition, the levy was approved for the ballot by a 3-2 school board vote.

Susan Lang, superintendent of the Rossford Exempted Village Schools, said the three buildings would cost one-third less than in normal times. Those tough economic times mean construction costs are low and interest rates range from 0-3 percent, Ms. Lang said.

In addition, 80-year-old buildings cost $400,000 a year to patch. "Anybody knows who's been to Rossford: Our buildings are crumbling," she said.

The levy at 5.99 mills would cost the owner of an average Rossford home valued at $102,100 an additional $187.11 annually in property taxes.

But the levy in the early years won't be collected at 5.99 mills, Brian Hughes, school board president, said. That's because businesses in enterprise zones will be required to make payments to the district in lieu of tax abatements they were granted, he said.