LOVELAND, Ohio — Loveland City Schools students return to the classroom this week and this school year, voters will decide whether to approve additional funding that would allow the district to provide high school busing.
It’s part of what's being called the 4.9 mill tax levy. The district’s board of education just decided to place it before voters on ballots this November.
About 85% of the revenue is intended to help the district continue operations already in place. Superintendent Mike Broadwater said the district has to go back to the community for inflationary adjustments. The district last passed an operating levy eight years ago in 2014.
Without this additional funding, the district could make “substantial cuts.”
Another 5% of the revenue will add five additional staff members over the next three years if the district needs them for changes in enrollment or programming.
The final 10% would be used to restore high school busing.
“You want to make sure that you're providing transportation for the students that may not necessarily have access to other forms of transportation,” Broadwater said. “So it's important that we provide our community opportunity to say if that's something they value or not. And we do have students that are in need of transportation.”
The district is actively hiring bus drivers and would need even more if the levy passes.
The district said the levy would cost Loveland property owners $14.29 per month per $100,000 in home value.
Besides the levy, the district has other new programs this year. Loveland City Schools is adding additional reading support for younger kids who might have been impacted by the pandemic and emphasizing additional mental health check-ins.
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