Celina schools to put renewal levy on ballot

CELINA -   The school board on Monday night hesitantly approved placing a renewal operating tax levy on the May ballot even though it could cost the district up to $20,000.

Celina City Schools Board of Education members voiced concern over possibly footing the entire cost of the May election since no other issues are slated for a vote at this time.

"There's a cost to every election. The cost is normally split between all the parties that have issues on the ballot, but because we are currently the only issue on the ballot, we would be paying the entire cost," treasurer Mick Davis told the newspaper.

According to Davis, the cost could range between $10,000 and $20,000, depending on how many poll workers the Mercer County Board of Elections uses and voter turnout.

Davis said it is imperative the property tax levy - a simple renewal for general operating expenses that does not seek more money - passes.

"I'm not just saying this as an employee of the school. If this doesn't pass, the taxpayer is going to be paying a lot more. The levy gives us almost $5 million in revenue," he said.

A resident with a $100,000 home would continue to pay $399 per year.

The board decided to put the issue on the ballot in May instead of November because district residents historically have approved only about 8 percent of school issues placed on November ballots, according to superintendent Jesse Steiner.

"For whatever reason, our issues don't do well in November, which makes it important for us to put this on the May 2015 ballot," he said.

Also on Monday night, board members said they reviewed materials provided by several architectural firms tapped as candidates to evaluate Celina's aging school buildings. The companies include Lesko Architecture, Buehrer Group, Fanning Howey and Garmann Miller and Associates.

Board members will now rank the engineering firms in order to determine a top candidate.

"When I looked over all the firms, I didn't see much difference. They are all very qualified and they are all highly recommended," board member Cindy Piper said.

Board member Matt Gilmore said he compiled a spreadsheet comparing the strengths and weaknesses of each firm and would share his findings with the board at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 14 at the Celina Education Complex.

"I imagine when we walk out of that meeting we will have a pre-bond architect," Davis said.

The company chosen for pre-bond design work may not be the one performing post-bond construction, he said.

"We go through a process as a board where we review and rank candidates to determine our top candidate for the job. That candidate then comes to our buildings, inspects them, and says what we should do to either renovate or replace them. Then a joint decision between the school board and the OSFC (Ohio School Facilities Commission) is made to determine which firm will handle the actual construction or renovation," Davis said.

In other business, the board,

• unanimously elected Connie Paulus as board president and Amy Hoyng as vice president during an organizational meeting preceding the regular meeting.

• held a three-hour executive session to evaluate the performances of Steiner and Davis. No action was taken.