School Levy Could Appear On Lakewood Ballots Soon

LAKEWOOD, OH — Lakewood voters could see a school levy on ballots soon. This month, the Board of Education took the first step to placing a 3.9-mill levy and 1 mill permanent improvement levy on the March 17, 2020 ballot.

The Board voted unanimously to move the levy proposal forward. The Lakewood City Schools said the levies would not increase the tax rate for the community and the generated funds would be used to expand academic programming, retain and recruit staff, expand the preschool program, maintain facilities and bolster mental health services.

“We are grateful for the community’s support and will continue being good stewards of the public’s dollars,” said Superintendent Mike Barnes. “These proposed new resources will help provide the tools and programming our students need to succeed in a complex and changing world and do so with no increase to the tax rate.”

The Board of Education had to approve a resolution declaring the necessity for a levy at their November 18 meeting. The resolution asks Cuyahoga County to certify the total current tax valuation of the school district and the dollar amount to be generated by the levy.

Lakewood Schools said they have not asked for additional funding since May 2013. However, expenditures are expected to outpace revenue starting in 2020, prompting the return to Lakewood ballots.