Woodridge Schools Plan Next Moves to Promote Upcoming Levy

The clock is ticking and there’s much to be done before Issue 5 comes before voters on Aug. 7.

The , along with the volunteer-based Issue 5 levy committee, met Wednesday to discuss how they were going to spread the word and encourage folks to vote yes on the five-year, 6.83-mill levy.

If passed, the issue would raise $3 million a year and cost taxpayers $209 for every $100,000 in property valuation, said Superintendent Walter Davis.

In the coming weeks, volunteers will hit the pavement, go door-to-door, hand out fliers and throw a set of restaurant fundraisers.

The fundraisers will take place on June 27 and July 25 at Pizza and , respectively. Each will run from 4 p.m. to close and community members are encouraged to attend during those times as a percentage of sales will go to pay for the materials used in promoting the levy.

Board president Tammy Heffernan said the levy committee would also focus on the “tremendous amount” of parents who didn’t vote in the last levy.

“Hopefully, we can reach out to these parents and get them to vote yes,” she said. "It's very important they come to the polls."

The levy campaign will be capped off by a on Aug. 4 at Woodridge High School.

The day-long event will feature a classic car show, inflatables, community tables, vendors, face painting, music and a fireworks display.

Why now?

According to Davis, a levy hasn’t been passed in the district since 2004 and school officials are beginning to run out of available yearly revenue as personnel and operations expenditures continue to climb.

To keep the budget in the black, the board has approved over $2 million in cuts to the district’s $20 million annual budget.

The budget will remain in the black by about $300,000 throughout the 2013-14 school year, but by the end of 2015, available revenue will not meet expenditures and the school system will sink $8.6 million in the red unless a levy is passed, said Woodridge treasurer Deanna Levenger.

For more information or to have an Issue 5 yard signs staked in your front yard, call Tammy Heffernan at 330-322-6952.