Dayton Schools To Seek $250,000 Levy

DAYTON - Dayton school officials will ask voters to approve a one-year, $250,000 maintenance and operations levy in February.

Community response during a public workshop on the levy two weeks ago was mostly supportive, Superintendent Doug Johnson told the school board last Wednesday. Members of the board agreed.

"What I heard from people was just that we be as specific as we can about how we're going to spend the money," said board member Marchand Hovrud. Her concern was that the proposed levy not hurt community members already under financial strain.

The estimated cost of the levy would be 65 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. A homeowner in the school district with property valued at $100,000 would pay $65 for the levy, which would be collected in 2012.

Unfortunately, Johnson said, he isn't able to be specific about what the money will be spent on right now. As details about the state's budget come to light, he will have a better idea. The board will have to set its own budget later next year for the 2011-12 school year whether the state's budget is ready by then or not, however. And this has the board worried. They may have to rely on making informed guesses.

Right now the school board knows of about $120,000 in proposed cuts that will be felt in Dayton, Johnson said. "And our biggest fear is in losing the K4 Enhancement," he said. Right now the district uses those state funds to split one of Dayton's largest classes - fourth grade - into two smaller classrooms.

"The bulk of the money we're asking for would just pay to keep things the same as they are now," he told the board.

Johnson has also penned a letter to state representatives begging that they ignore the State Board of Education's recommendations for more graduation requirements.

"The more I ask the staff to do, the less excited they are to do it," he said. "It's hard to keep asking them."

The board will propose the levy in February, before they're sure of the outlook for future funding, because of the 18-month lag time between approval of the levy and collection of funds - that year and a half may be too long to wait, Johnson said earlier this month.

Any "extra" money from the levy that was generated if, say, state cuts didn't turn out to be as deep as predicted, he said, would go to restore programs already cut based on student need, counseling services, support staff and more.

The community showed no support for a capital projects levy also proposed during the workshop earlier this month. Board members were disappointed, worried about how injuries caused by old bleachers in the high school gym and cracked sidewalks at the school could take money away from maintenance and operation of the schools.

But, as board chair Steve Martin said, the board could at some point use maintenance and operations money to make those repairs. Capital projects money, however, cannot be used to pay staff or operate the district - the primary concern at this time.

"That's just the way it's going to be," said board member David Bailey. "It's going to have to work (the current bleachers and sidewalks) until there's a crisis before we'll be able to do something about it."