(6-27-24) Coldwater Schools are hoping they can get community support on a future levy attempt. This all comes after when a proposed 1.75% earned income tax levy was easily voted down,

Superintendent Doug Mader in a statement said after the failure of the vote in March-

“The failure of this levy creates significant financial challenges for our district.”

Since that time Mader and the BOE have been looking for ways to address those financial issues.

Today the school shared the tax levy history….

On May 22nd on the Coldwatrer Schools web page the Board decided to implement a general fee of $75.00 to be used for consumables and an additional $50.00 technology fee to help offset Chromebook costs and software expenses. These fees and increased revenue will allow a stable fiscal picture until the district can place another levy on the ballot. This will allow the district to hire a sufficient number of elementary teachers to keep class sizes between 20 and 22.

The Board decided to cap open enrollment for the first time this year for the incoming Kindergarten class. Stopping open enrollment and reduced staff where we could, would lead to an $820,000 loss to the budget

The levy decision will be made by the end of July in order to place the it on the ballot in November.

Adding to the situation for Coldwater residents is what the Coldwater Village councilors did this past week when they unanimously passed on the final reading a resolution to place a five-year, additional 0.5% traditional income tax on the November 5th general election ballot.