PARMA, Ohio — The time is approaching once again for voters to vote yes or no on Parma City School District's consolidation tax to build a new high school.
“We know certain areas of our communities are more likely to support us, and we're trying to make sure we motivate them to get to the ballot,” said Parma City School District Superintendent Charles Smialek.
The district has pleaded countless times for the community's support.
But voters like Eileen Macko say they refuse to give in to this issue.
“There's too many things that don't seem right,” said Macko.
Then, there are people like Nadine Jamison, who are begging voters to have a change of heart.
“It's not optional anymore,” said Jamison.
Jamison says she and her family moved to this school district from another state about seven years ago with the expectation Parma would be getting new schools.
“This is something that I gathered from the community, especially after being in the buildings that this is needed and necessary,” said Jamison.
Jamison said that when the community doesn’t support the issue, her sons feel defeated.
“Every time the levy doesn't pass, my kids get really disappointed because it really feels like to them that this community doesn't support their future,” said Jamison.
Macko said she's against the levy due to costs.
If passed, Superintendent Charles Smialek says the homeowner price would be $11.67 per month per $100,000 of home value.
Smialek says this is up 14 cents from what they presented last November because the cost of the building went from $237.5 million to $250 million due to inflation.
“We will probably be looking to move because we will not be able to afford the taxes because our budget is again, being retired is very tight,” said Macko.
Macko says there are more reasons she's against the bond issue including traffic problems she believes the new campus will cause.
She also tells News 5 she doesn't trust the district will manage its money after past transgressions back in 2016 when a parent found millions of dollars that were missing from the district's budget.
But current leaders are trying to reassure voters they're trustworthy.
“We don't feel they're being very honest,” said Macko. “We don't believe the superintendent.”
“It's time to put those things aside,” said Jamison. “You're punishing the current generation, and you're punishing the next generation.”
Most recently in November, the district fell short 52 to 48%, so leaders are hopeful they could win over enough votes.
Watch live and local news any time:
Download the News 5 Cleveland app now for more stories from us, plus alerts on major news, the latest weather forecast, traffic information and much more. Download now on your Apple device here, and your Android device here.
You can also catch News 5 Cleveland on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV NOW, Hulu Live and more. We're also on Amazon Alexa devices. Learn more about our streaming options here.
