TOLEDO, Ohio —
For the first time in a decade, the Toledo Public Schools district is asking voters to approve a new money issue on the ballot.
TPS is asking voters in Toledo to pass Issue 19, a 5.8-mill combined levy and bond to maintain operational costs and support new initiatives.
"We believe with that combination, it will really help us succeed financially and keep a good financial structure, but it allows us as educators to operate more like a business," said TPS superintendent Romules Durant.
The levy portion — 3.8 mills — would go toward operating costs and maintaining what the district has already created. The bond portion — 2 mills — would go toward growth, which Durant calls a return on investment.
"We're looking to renovate Scott Park," he said. "We're going to have three more academies going right here in education, as well as business, as well as construction."
Durant added that TPS intends to serve its students from their youth to when they can potentially obtain degrees in higher education.
How much would Issue 19 cost a Toledo homeowner?
The 3.8-mill levy would cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $133 per year. The 2-mill bond would cost the same homeowner about $70 a year. That total comes out to about $203 per year, which is just under $17 a month.
Toledo resident Mina Smith said that while she will vote for Issue 19, she hopes the district can lower the price tag.
"We have so many other levies that need attention, too," she said. "I think It is a little bit too high."
Val Amos-King said the benefits of the levy are valuable.
"It's going to some of the buildings to improve the buildings, so it's important the kids have a great environment in which to learn," Amos-King said.
However, Toledo resident Marty Skeldon says he has heard fellow retirees oppose the measure.
"They've figured they paid their dues and they don't want to pass another levy because it's going to eat into their retirement," he said.
Skeldon says if others voted with that mindset when his kids were going through school, nothing would have passed.
"People need that money to be able to produce good schools and give the children the education that they need," he said.
If Issue 19 doesn't pass, Durant says there would be restrictions, but there would be an effort to keep those restrictions from impacting students.
"You take a look at the dollar amount, then you start to decide on 'what are the furthest things from kids we can eliminate through the process of elimination?'" he said.
If passed, the money collected from the levy would not go toward teacher pay.
The Toledo Federation of Teachers has not responded to a request for comment.