LORAIN, Ohio — Lorain City Schools have a permanent improvement levy on the November ballot. Lorain City Schools Superintendent Jeff Graham said these funds will go towards building maintenance and repairs; a need he hopes residents clearly see.
"Our buildings were new 20 years ago, but as time goes by things break down, things need fixed: roofs, HVAC systems, safety systems," said Graham. "We're in need of maintaining those buildings to keep our children safe and to be in healthy schools."
This is a five-year, 4.97 mill levy. According to the district's website, households will pay $174 per year for a home valued at $100,000.
"That results in about $3.5 million per year for the district, the exact same amount of money they've been paying in taxes for the past 22 years," said Graham.
This comes at a time when the district reports enrollment is up, while noting on their website that it has been 12 years since the district has received additional local funding.
Facilities are estimated to cost roughly $45 million to repair and maintain over the next 15 years, according to the district, who now don't have federal COVID relief money at their disposal.
"We had programs like post-COVID dollars that came in very handy and replaced a bunch of our roofs, a bunch of our HVAC systems, but those grant moneys by law had to be spent already so that’s no longer an option for us," said Graham.