SOUTH POINT – Voters who still aren’t sure they want to support a levy to build new schools in their district will have a chance to ask questions before they have to head to the voting booth Aug.

Thursday, July 06, 2000

SOUTH POINT – Voters who still aren’t sure they want to support a levy to build new schools in their district will have a chance to ask questions before they have to head to the voting booth Aug. 8.

The South Point Board of Education filed for a special election after residents turned down two previous attempts to get the bond issue passed. The measure would provide local matching funds to get state Building Assistance Program funds.

"The special election will be Aug. 8 from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.," Mary Wipert, director of the Board of Elections said. "It’s just like any other election with the exception that it only involves South Point residents. They are the only ones who can vote on the bond levy for the schools."

She said precincts Fayette 1,2,3; Burlington 1,2,3; South Point 1,2,3,4,5 and Sheridan 1,2 will be open for the election.

"Basically, the election will involve all of Fayette Township, part of Perry Township and part of Sheridan," she said. "That’s what makes up the South Point district. It will involve all 13 precincts. Voters will be asked to vote on two bond issues and a tax levy totaling 4.99-mill."

Voters twice turned down a 4.84-mill property tax that would provide local funds to match state building assistance funds needed to build a new high school and elementary school. The current high school also needs renovations in its transformation into a middle school.

School board members said continually rising interest rates caused the .15-mill increase in the levy millage.

"The school system needs .55-mill to acquire the land, 3.94-mills to build the schools and a half-mill tax levy is required by the State of Ohio to maintain the facilities," Mrs. Wipert said. "Those three amounts equal the 4.99-mill residents will be asked to vote on."

In an effort to better inform voters, school officials have formed a research committee to seek answers to many questions that were commonly asked prior to the previous elections.

"This committee is strictly a volunteer group of community workers who have worked hard to answer many of the questions voters had during the last election," school board member Gary Morrison said. "We have put together a pamphlet that describes questions people have had about the levy."

Morrison said South Point residents had many questions officials had no answers for during the previous elections.

"One of the big questions voters had before was concerning access to the property," he said. "Access at that time had not been clearly defined. We now have defined an access that is pre-existing from new U.S. 52. The pamphlet that the committee will be distributing will answer every relevant question we didn’t have answers to before."