Comments for Tallmadge PRIDE http://tallmadgepride.org Just the Facts Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:22:21 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ Comment on Q & A by Valorie Prulhiere http://tallmadgepride.org/questions/#comment-99 Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:22:21 +0000 http://tallmadgepride.wordpress.com/questions/#comment-99 Mr. Sisak,
You are not the only person who may have questions after reading the letter in the Express. Mr. Ferguson’s answer to your question, as well as the initial question posed in the Express, has been posted on the home page of this website under the heading “Superintendent Responds to Question.”
As a Board member I can assure you that this Board and Administration remain committed to open and honest communication with the community. There is no hidden agenda or smokescreen intended to mislead anyone.
It’s important that voters have reliable information when they go to the polls on November 3rd.

Thank you for your question.

]]> Comment on Q & A by Craig B. Sisak http://tallmadgepride.org/questions/#comment-98 Mon, 28 Sep 2009 23:33:25 +0000 http://tallmadgepride.wordpress.com/questions/#comment-98 So I read in a letter to the Tallmadge Express dated September 27, 2009 stating Rep. Stephen Dyer “unequivocally” reports that the funding to Tallmadge City Schools for the coming year was actually increased. Yet the schools started with 55 less employees, what gives? Who is correct?

]]> Comment on Q & A by Jeff Ferguson http://tallmadgepride.org/questions/#comment-70 Mon, 20 Apr 2009 20:24:42 +0000 http://tallmadgepride.wordpress.com/questions/#comment-70 The Athletic Department budget is about 80,000 dollars next year. That does not include salaries. The salaries for the coaching staff will be about 200,000 dollars next year.The transportation costs average about 45,000 dollars per year. This year we had 978 participants in athletics grades 7-12 which would represent a little over one third of our total enrollment (k-12) of 2605.
This year our Athletic department gate revenue was about 66,128 dollars and the pay to participate generated 216,500 dollars or a total of 282,678 dollars in revenue. We also received about 50,000 dollars in support from the Tallmadge Athletic boosters for equipment and uniforms. Thank you for your question.

]]> Comment on Q & A by Karen http://tallmadgepride.org/questions/#comment-69 Wed, 15 Apr 2009 23:11:49 +0000 http://tallmadgepride.wordpress.com/questions/#comment-69 How much money is being allocated to sports for the 2009-2010 school year? Does this allocation also cover the operational cost of the facilities and the salaries of the staff that have to maintain the fields/courts? What is the percentage of students for K-12 that participate in a school sponsored sport? Are there any revenues generated from sports within the district?

]]> Comment on Q & A by Valorie Prulhiere http://tallmadgepride.org/questions/#comment-68 Sat, 04 Apr 2009 21:20:59 +0000 http://tallmadgepride.wordpress.com/questions/#comment-68 Absentee voting has never been easier. Yes, the process you outlined in your question will work. But even easier is the online/download and application process. Your daughter can go directly to to the Summit County Board of Elections website. The link to the website can also be found under the “Links” Heading on the top right side of this blog page. The completed application can be mailed to the Board of Elections. Once it has been received, the ballot will be mailed directly to the address provided on the application. The Board must receive the completed ballot by Election Day, may 5, 2009. A stamp is needed to mail the application.

The other option for absentee voting is to walk into the Board of Elections office (470 Grant St., Akron), ask for an application, fill it out, and turn it right back in. They will immediately give you a ballot and you can vote right then and there. This is a great option for individuals who live locally and don’t want to wait until May 5 to vote.

Thanks for your question.

]]> Comment on Q & A by Alan MacFarland http://tallmadgepride.org/questions/#comment-67 Sat, 04 Apr 2009 16:43:47 +0000 http://tallmadgepride.wordpress.com/questions/#comment-67 Our daughter is away at college and won’t be returning until late May. This situation is not unique to us, and I believe there are many votes out there that could be had with a bit of effort. I’m not clear on the procedure, but if I were to: A. Go to the Board of Elections and ask for an absentee ballot request form. B. Have her fill it in when we see her over Easter. C. Return to the Board of Elections and exchange it for a ballot. D. Snail mail it to her. E. Have her snail mail it back to the Board of Elections- will this work?

]]> Comment on Q & A by Jeff Hostetler http://tallmadgepride.org/questions/#comment-66 Fri, 03 Apr 2009 15:00:19 +0000 http://tallmadgepride.wordpress.com/questions/#comment-66 I think that is the question on everyone’s mind. Let me first say that no, the Governor’s plan, HB 1 (which is the State’s biennium budget bill) will not fix school funding. While it is a complete overhaul of the way schools are funded, and takes some positive steps, there are still many challenges in formula. When details of the proposal first became public everyone focused on what additional revenue districts would receive. Tallmadge Schools was projected to receive slight increases over the next two years. These increases amount to roughly ½ and ¾ mill for this district. Certainly not nearly enough to fix our financial challenges. However, roughly 1/3 of the districts in the state will receive nothing the first year and are cut the 2nd year. This has caused an uproar in the education community.
What hasn’t been talked about enough is that along with being a complete overhaul of school funding, it also changes the education side of the equation. There are new mandates in HB 1 that will cost districts millions of dollars to implement such as class size requirements, extended school year, adding positions not currently on staff, and many others too detailed to discuss here. All of these issues have caused lawmakers to take a closer look at many of the components of HB 1.
We are currently waiting to see what changes will be proposed by the House before it heads to the Senate for more scrutiny. What the final bill will look like once all the dust settles is unknown at this point. What is known is that at best, it is an 8 year plan that is intended to increase the State’s share of funding schools. It will not eliminate the reliance on local property taxes for districts to pay their share of funding schools.
For more details on this and other school funding issues join me April 29th at 6:00 p.m. in the community room at the new high school.

]]> Comment on Q & A by Laura Freeman-Clark http://tallmadgepride.org/questions/#comment-65 Fri, 03 Apr 2009 03:11:04 +0000 http://tallmadgepride.wordpress.com/questions/#comment-65 We’ve all heard how the Governor’s proposal will be the “fix” for schools. I’d like to hear from Treasurer of our schools..What are your thoughts?

]]> Comment on Q & A by Jeff Hostetler http://tallmadgepride.org/questions/#comment-64 Thu, 02 Apr 2009 15:55:49 +0000 http://tallmadgepride.wordpress.com/questions/#comment-64 The issue of market value vs taxable value can be confusing. Taxable value is determined by taking the market/appraised value and multiplying by 35%. The taxable value is then used to determine what the increase in millage would cost the property owner. In the example of a property with a $100,000 market value the taxable value would be $35,000. The resulting increase in tax (after homestead & amp; rollback credit) would be $211 per year. A link to the tax calculator can be found under the “Links” heading on the right side of this page. Simply enter the market value of your own property to determine the increase in tax for the 6.9 mill levy.
For a resident who is over 65 and has applied for the additional exemption the increase would be $158 per year. The application for the Senior Citizen Tax Relief Application is also under the “Links” heading on the right side ofthis page.

]]> Comment on Q & A by Concerned in Tallmadge http://tallmadgepride.org/questions/#comment-63 Wed, 01 Apr 2009 23:11:18 +0000 http://tallmadgepride.wordpress.com/questions/#comment-63 In the letters section of the March 29 Tallmadge Express, I read a confusing statement from the President of the Tallmadge PTA council. ” I want to remind our community that this $100,000 value refers to the tax value of the home. ” I have always been under the impression that it refers to the appraised value. This is huge in one way or the other. The owner of a $250,000 home with a tax value of $87,000 would pay $180 per year for 6.9 mills, very reasonable. That same home owner paying on the appraised value would pay $520 per year, not as affordable but a solid investment. If it is true that this levy is on taxable value I think the public needs to know this ASAP, if not, shame on this peson for misleading our community. If the levy is on the appraised value is there any possibility of using taxable value for seniors and dissabled as this is the biggest sticking point of the issue, I know because I have many customers in Tallmadge that are seniors on fixed income. On a $100,000 home that would be a differance of about $11.33 a month, not much to some of us but with an income of $850 a month SSI it could mean the chosing between medications and food.

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