Schools prep for excess levy vote

By Matthew Hill
The Register-Herald

March 11, 2008 04:30 pm

— A draft copy of the ballot for a five-year renewal of Fayette County’s excess school levy is ready to be placed before the citizens for a vote on May 13, Dr. Serena Starcher explained Thursday.
According to Starcher, the associate superintendent of Fayette County Schools, the Committee for Fayette County Students (CFFCS) completed the draft ballot on Feb. 11 following extensive work, and the county school board approved it for the May 13 primary at its regular meeting on Feb. 12.
“We followed the same process as in years past,” said Starcher. “We’ve worked quite extensively on coming to a consensus on ballot items with appropriate dollar amounts to serve the students of Fayette County as best as possible based on that levy.”
If endorsed by the voters, the levy — which would take effect July 1, 2009, and expire June 30, 2014 — consists of 24 areas of expenditure totalling $37,657,740. The current levy expires June 30, 2009.
Questioned about the process of preparing for the levy, Starcher said the board meeting of Feb. 12, at which the draft ballot was approved, was advertised as always, and the committee meetings prior to that were held to merely gain an idea of the monetary needs of various segments of the school system so that a dollar amount could be placed on the ballot.
The committee, she said, consisted of an “even mixture” of representatives from the local chapters of two different teachers unions, service personnel associations and community organizations, among others.
She and the rest of the CFFCS now face the task of getting the word out to county residents about the levy — what it is used for, what students gain from the levy, as well as what the county would lose if the levy fails, Starcher added.
To that end, a meeting of school employees has been scheduled for March 11 at 6 p.m. at the Lewis Community Center in Oak Hill.
It is there, said Starcher, that CFFCS members will go over the levy ballot with employees, explain the 24 items contained therein, clarify some “dos and don’ts” regarding the levy, and conduct a question-and-answer session.
The meeting, she emphasized, is not a board-sanctioned meeting. Its purpose is merely to educate school employees about the levy.
“For approximately 60 years, our citizens have supported the children of Fayette County through passage of the special excess levy. This special levy provides for free textbooks, instructional and extracurricular support, library support and technological resources,” Starcher declared.
She went on to say that the levy “helps Fayette County maintain a quality workforce to serve our students and provide for maintenance and upkeep of existing facilities.”
— E-mail:
mhill@register-herald.com