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Editor:
Voters will be heading to the polls on Nov. 6 to cast their ballots for a variety of races and issues. Those who reside in the Edison Local School District will decide on Issue 2, a 5.9-mill renewal operating levy that would keep the district on track and replace funding that it lost and will potentially be losing in the near future.
Edison includes two elementary buildings and a junior-senior high school and works to give an estimated 1,500 students the best education possible so they can attain success in life. Education is evolving every day and the district strives to keep up with it through new technology and innovative teaching methods. None of this would be possible without support for the district's levies.
The district is currently seeking the renewal levy for operations and also to fill a void left by monetary decreases in tax revenue from First Energy Corp., which recently announced the impending shutdown of its coal-fired power plants in 2022. The district lost $1.6 million a year in guaranteed funding of tax revenue when the W.H. Sammis Plant was awarded a reduction in its taxes. However, the passage of the 5.9-mill renewal levy would generate approximately $1.9 million annually for a five-year period to fill that gap and provide a steady stream of revenue for the next five years.
Edison has gained revenue from the gas and oil pipeline, but the need still exists for the levy funding. Gas and oil money is not guaranteed funding and may fluctuate on a yearly basis, plus it is difficult to build budgets and a five-year forecast on revenue that is always a moving target.
The revenue from the 5.9-mill operating levy that was passed in May of 2014 has enabled Edison Local Schools to make great strides in upgrading facilities and providing the most modern technology so students have advantages to learn. In recent weeks, we have told the public about the $6.2 million in renovations completed at our schools since 2015. A majority of the improvements have been completed at Edison Jr./Sr. High School to bring the original structure from 1939 and the additional wing from 1963 into the 21st Century, while Stanton and John Gregg Elementary Schools have also received some updates for security and functionality. This work has been financed through voters approving the operating levy and we at Edison Local are extremely grateful. Our plan is to utilize funds from the 5.9-mill renewal levy and start renovations at John Gregg and Stanton in 2020.
We now ask the people to help Protect and Preserve our schools by casting a ballot to renew the levy on Nov. 6.
Let's finish it together. Please vote for Issue 2.
Bill Beattie
Superintendent
Edison Local Schools