COLUMBUS, Ohio — School district leaders are sharing their excitement for the overwhelming majority of residents voting to pass local levies.
“I think everyone knows the teachers work hard and they need the little extra help in getting supplies and space,” New Albany resident Carolin Sorkin, who says her whole family voted for the school levy to pass.
She says children are the future and we need to take care of them. The majority of New Albany residents voted for the renewal levy to maintain and replace school infrastructure with 25-year-old buildings.
The levy includes funds for building repairs, technology, security upgrades, school bus repairs and heating and cooling. District taxpayers will see a net decrease starting in 2023.
“We're all about trying to provide the best academic and developmental outcomes. And part of that is making sure we've got great campus facilities for our students every day,” says Paul Naumoff, VP of the New Albany Board of Education.
Naumoff said they’re one of 12 schools out of more than 600 districts across the state that achieved a five-star rating across all the measures.
“We want to continue that momentum and we can do it with the support of that community,” Naumoff said.
In Pickerington, advocates for school bonds say a win was crucial for school buildings with dire overcrowding throughout the district. The passage of the $89.9 million bond will help with building a new junior high and adding classrooms to both north and central high schools.
“They're just way over packed that we've had to take lockers out of hall rooms, we're having teachers have to hold classrooms and gymnasiums and in teacher break rooms. And so, it's really been challenging for our district,” Tom Dains of Vote 4 Pick Kids said.
The city will not have to raise the local school tax rate and taxpayers will actually see a decrease of half a million dollars.
"We're going to get an additional $75 million in grant money from the state of Ohio for passing this bond and doing our part. But we're also doing it without raising the local school tax rate,” Dains said.
It’s a win that will take years in the making to accomplish, but Dains explains getting a start on it now is crucial with supply chain issues across the board, and everything taking longer to build across the nation.
“When it comes to our community, when you look at crime, poverty, homelessness, substance abuse, education is the silver bullet. And we need strong schools to create a strong community in society and for us in Pickerington. This is the right time with the right place and the right plan,” Dains said.