Lay Finance Committee to Present Recommendations for CHUH Levy

A group of six residents from Cleveland Heights and University Heights will present recommendations to the CHUH School Board July 5 about how much money the district needs to ask from residents in November.

Members of the Lay Finance Committee met May 25 to discuss a report from Scott Gainer, the district’s chief financial officer, about the financial health of the district and the . The district is expecting a $7 million cut in revenue for fiscal year 2012.

The members, who have financial and business backgrounds, agreed that an operating levy is essential for the school district to continue operating at its current level.  They will review the report again, research millage models and finalize an amount before the July 5 meeting, Gainer said. 

CHUH Residents passed a 7.2-mill levy in 2007 that was projected to last three years, but the district stretched it to four years “through aggressive savings/budget reductions beginning right after the levy passed,” Gainer said in an email.

The proposed amount must go through two readings, and the board has to submit an issue to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections by Aug. 10 to get it on the November ballot.

Members of the Lay Finance Committee are Jayne Geneva (chair), Jim Posch, Kathy Petrey, Win Weizer, Dennis Wilcox and Steve Bullock.