TPS kicks off push for 6.5-mill levy renewal

9/20/2013

Hundreds of Toledo Public Schools staff and supporters filled the stands at Waite High School Thursday for the official kick off of a campaign to pass a 6.5-mill operating levy in November.

The five-year levy is a renewal and not a new tax. The tax generates about $13 million annually for district operations and was approved by voters in 2008 with about 61 percent of the vote.

Speakers at the event included Superintendent Romules Durant, school board President Brenda Hill, principals, union leaders, and parents. Mr. Durant, a Waite graduate who is never shy in front of a crowd, led the group in chants, and implored them to work hard to pass the levy and to carry that passion into the classroom.

Attendees were asked to make sure they were registered to vote, to help with phone calls and neighborhood walks to support the levy, and to remind voters the passage would not increase residents' tax burden.