SOUTH POINT – With only six weeks left before the November election, members of the Committee for Bettering South Point Schools are looking for volunteers to spread information about the 4.

Tuesday, September 21, 1999

SOUTH POINT – With only six weeks left before the November election, members of the Committee for Bettering South Point Schools are looking for volunteers to spread information about the 4.84-mill tax levy that, if passed, would bring two new schools to the district.

"We have six weeks to get the information out," superintendent Rick Waggoner said. "Once the information is out, you can make your decision. We just want to make sure that everyone in the community is an informed and educated voter."

About 100 parents and local school personnel attended the first in four scheduled informational meetings Monday at South Point High School.

The school district recently received state approval to seek a bond levy, which would give a $7.1 million match to $23.4 million in state building assistance funds for the construction of a new high school and consolidated elementary, as well as for the renovation of the current high school into a middle school, Waggoner said.

And supporters want everyone to know what a good opportunity this is for South Point, said Ray Bailey, co-president of the school project committee.

"I, for one, am behind this," Bailey said. "I think this is a great thing for South Point. We would be putting in pennies to dollars. I don’t think we can go wrong with this."

The 4.84 mills the school district is asking for includes a 0.5-mill state-required maintenance tax, and funds for land acquisition, Waggoner said.

"I don’t see how we can get a better deal," he said. "We’re putting in 57 percent of the effort we put forth in 1980 to get eight times the money. This project will receive 77 percent of the costs from the state. Ladies, when you go to Lazarus and see a sign that says 77 percent off, you know that’s a heck of a deal. That’s what the state is offering us."

The school board is planning to have three more informational meetings, one at each of the district’s schools, Waggoner said.

"We want to have one at Burlington, and at the middle school in October, and one at the South Point Elementary School," he said. "We want to have a meeting in every school so that no one feels left out."

At those meetings, residents are encouraged to ask questions and volunteer to serve on the schools betterment committee, or to make donations, said Joe McSweeney, head of the fund raising committee.

"We need as many volunteers as we can get," McSweeney said. "And we need contributions just to promote the campaign. We want to make literature and flyers to give to people. We plan a door-to-door campaign to answer any questions people may have."

Donations may be sent to the Committee for Bettering South Point Schools, P.O. Box 12, South Point, Ohio, 45680, or more information about volunteering may be obtained by calling co-president Ray Bailey at 377-2679, or co-president Renee Warnick at 894-4230.

"We just started looking for volunteers this evening," Bailey said Monday. "We’re hoping that through word of mouth, people will begin to offer their help. That 77 percent discount is a pretty good deal. It’s time we got into a real nice building project, and it would be insane to pass this one up."