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March 22 - 29, 2006
Levy campaign gears up
By PAMELA WILLIS
Yes! buttons are showing up on lapels all over town as Worthington City School District levy supporters kick off a campaign to urge voters to say "Yes! To Issue 5" on the May ballot.
Issue 5 is the 6.25-mill combined levy request placed on the May 2 ballot by the district. Five mills of the request is a continuing operating levy request and 1.25-mills is a five-year permanent-improvement levy request.
If approved by voters, Issue 5 will cost homeowners an additional $191.41 annually per $100,000 in property valuation and would generate $12,115,152 per year for the school district, according to the Franklin County auditor's office.
Meetings to organize volunteers and gather information for the levy campaign will be held at 6:30 p.m. today and 10 a.m. Saturday at the Worthington Education Center, 200 E. Wilson Bridge Road.
Campaign co-chairman Saul Seigel said the 19 individuals on the levy committee will work to communicate the need for the levy to the community.
"We need to energize voters to vote yes," Seigel said. "The more help we get, the easier that task will be."
Jon and Aurora Bloom also are co-chairmen of the committee.
Seigel is a longtime resident of Worthington and a veteran when it comes to levy campaigns.
"I worked on the last two levy campaigns for the district, and they were successful," Seigel said. "I personally believe that the elected community members who serve on the board and our Superintendent Melissa Conrath are outstanding individuals. We have 9,000 children in our district, and they deserve the finest education we can give them."
Seigel said the district's decision to hire Conrath was a wise one.
"We hired the most outstanding superintendent we could imagine and I am tremendously impressed with her, particularly since I see her everywhere I go. She is out in the community and in the schools," Seigel said. "If we don't pass the levy request, it would be like hiring the CEO of a $100 million organization and then telling her it is going bankrupt. We have to give her the tools that will take advantage of her leadership."
The district has earned an "Excellent" rating on the state report card for five years in a row, Seigel said.
"When you walk into a situation that has been declared "Excellent" for five years in a row, you want to maintain the status quo," Seigel said.
Seigel said he can understand senior citizens' concerns over higher taxes.
"I'm a widower approaching 80 and I can use every dime I can get a hold of," Seigel said. "But I think the levy is an important issue and sometimes we have to sacrifice to achieve the success of such an important issue."
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