Thursday, May 2, 2013
A procedural rule defeated plans to hold the renewal levy vote in August, so it will now be held in November
The Twinsburg Board of Education will now hold its 6.9-mill renewal levy in November after two board members were able to defeat plans to hold it in August. Earlier this month, the board had approved by a 3-2 vote plans to hold the renewal levy in August. But that decision was before the board again Wednesday night on second reading. Under rules of second reading, the ordinance must receive four votes to be approved. So when board members David Andrews and Paul Crosby voted no again on Wednesday, plans for an August levy were scuttled. The board then considered a resolution to hold the levy in November, and that passed by 5-0 vote. The entire board agrees that the renewal levy must be passed to preserve the quality of the school district, …
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Twinsburg School Board members were divided on whether the renewal levy should go before voters in August or November.
Members of the Twinsburg School board agreed on one thing: There would be a vote on a 6.9-mill renewal levy in 2013. But school board members disagreed on whether the vote should be held in August or November. Ultimately, the board decided 3-2 to hold the renewal levy in August. The board members discussed the matter Monday morning before voting. Those who voted for August were board members Ron Stuver, Stephen Shebeck and Kate Cain-Criswell, the board president. Also supporting August was the district administration, including Superintendent Kathi Powers. Stuver said one reason he wants to hold the vote in August is to prevent it from distracting the staff from all the important work they do. "Our staff is trying to stay focused on all of…
Thursday, April 18, 2013
The Twinsburg Board of Education will hold a special meeting Monday to discuss whether to put a renewal levy on the ballot in August.
The Twinsburg Board of Education will hold a special meeting Monday to discuss whether to put a renewal levy on the ballot in August. The move comes after the board decided in March to withdraw the 6.9-mill renewal levy from the ballot in May because of confusion over the governor's education budget proposal, which at the time showed Twinsburg receiving a large increase in state funding. Now the board is going to consider putting the levy on the ballot on Aug. 6, said Superintendent Kathi Powers. At the time the board said it would likely consider putting the levy on the ballot later this year after the state budget picture clears up. The 6.9-mill levy equates to about $4.4 million in revenue for the school board per year. The special …
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Uncertainties at the federal and state levels and the school board's decision to cancel a levy vote in May led Superintendent Kathryn Powers to say she is concerned about the state of the district's finances.
Twinsburg Superintendent Kathryn Powers says she is concerned about the school district's finances because of funding uncertainty on the state and federal level. Her statement comes as the school board decided Wednesday to cancel a 6.9-mill renewal levy vote scheduled for May. The board canceled the levy after public input and after Gov. John Kasich unveiled an educational funding plan that, if approved as is, would dramatically boost Twinsburg Schools' state funding. But Powers and many school officials are leery that the state funding boost won't come to pass. That coupled with the decision to cancel the levy has caused Powers to be concerned that the school district will lose the $4.4 million the expiring levy provides the district each…
Friday, February 22, 2013
School officials are deciding whether to continue plans for a levy in May after learning they may receive a funding boost from the state.
The Twinsburg school board is caught in a game of budgetary chicken. Do they continue with plans to for a renewal levy in May despite the possibility of a funding boost from the state? If the state funding boost touted by Gov. John Kasich actually materializes -- that's very uncertain right now -- and the school board keeps the levy on the ballot, then the school board risks upsetting voters. But if the school board cancels its levy plans and the extra state funding fizzles, or turns out to be less than originally thought, then the district is caught having to make drastic budget cuts. The school board is hosting a public forum on Feb. 27 to discuss this decision with voters. What do you think the board should do? Take our poll and then …
Thursday, January 10, 2013
The renewal levy would not ask for new money from taxpayers. But without voter approval, Twinsburg Schools would lose $4.3 million annually.
Editor's Note: The original story had incorrect information. The levy will be put to voters in May. Twinsburg voters will likely head to the ballot boxes in May to decide whether to renew a school tax levy. The Board of Education approved a resolution setting the date for the 6.9-mill levy vote during Wednesday's meeting. A second resolution still needs to be approved by the school board. The renewal levy would not raise new money from taxpayers, it would simply continue taxes they are already paying. Without the levy, the schools would be out $4.3 million annually and would have to again discuss operational and instructional cuts. The schools have already cut positions and raised fees to improve the district's budget picture. "If this …
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Twinsburg school officials sounded off on the recent ratings from the Ohio Department of Education.
Despite losing the tag of "Distinction," Twinsburg school officials are still happy about the district's performance on the state report cards. "We were disappointed about losing that tag, but we have to celebrate the fact that our students have done extremely well," Superintendent Kathryn Powers said at Wednesday's school board meeting. Preliminary data was released Wednesday by the Ohio Department of Education ranking each school district in the state. Twinsburg was rated "Excellent," for the 2012-13 school year, ending its streak of four-straight years of "Excellent With Distinction." "I’m shocked and amazed that we can perform to the high level that we are and yet because of how it’s calculated, we lose our tag of 'distinction,'" …
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Paul Crosby told parents, residents why he supports the district's 4.9 mill levy on Nov. 6.
Paul Crosby, one of the more reserved school board members, shared his thoughts Tuesday night about the Twinsburg schools' upcoming levy. "I’m voting for this levy, not because I’m a board member, but because I’m proud of this community,” Crosby said. The district's levy, Issue 69, will go before residents on the Nov. 6 ballot, asking for a 4.9 mill continuing operating levy. If approved, it will create $3.8 million each year for the district, in addition to the recent $3.2 million in cuts and changes. Combined they will fill the $7 million hole in district operating expenses. Crosby said he purposely moved his family to Twinsburg years ago because the district he was in was low performing, unable to pass a levy. He added that he has voted…
Monday, October 17, 2011
We bring you a photo gallery of all the candidates in this year's election for Twinsburg City Council and the Board of Education on Nov. 8
Election day is closing fast and we have finished our all of our candidate profiles which can be easily found at our Twinsburg Patch Election Central homepage. Below are all the links for the candidates profiles so you can learn more about the person in the picture: Twinsburg Board of Education Election 2011: Kate Cain-Criswell Twinsburg City Council Election 2011: At-Large Councilman Bill Furey Twinsburg City Council Election 2011: Ward 2 Councilman Bob McDermott Twinsburg City Council Election 2011: Ward 3 Candidate Steve Murphy Twinsburg Mayoral Election 2011: Mayor Katherine Procop Twinsburg City Council Election 2011: Ward 1 City Councilman Sam Scaffide Twinsburg Board of Education Election 2011: Ron Stuver Twinsburg City Council …
Nassman
11:31 am on Thursday, May 2, 2013
Thank you Mr. Crosby and Mr. Andrews. I hope that the other board members do not see this as a defeat and have learned something from the articulate discussion against going forward with the August vote. more ›