CHESAPEAKE — On the heels of a narrowly defeated 1-mill levy for senior programs, voters will be asked to consider a levy that would impact the county’s career and technical school in March.

Collins Career Center officially filed this week to have a half-mill permanent improvement levy added to the March 2012 primary ballot. The levy would bring in about $300,000 a year for the school to keep in a state mandated set-aside fund to maintain the campus once its $22 million renovation project is complete.

“Because the state is paying 75 percent of the project, the district has to set aside about $220,000 a year for 23 years to make sure the facility that is being renovated is maintained,” superintendent Steve Dodgion said. “That’s an Ohio School Facilities Commission requirement that we have this maintenance set-aside.”

CCC had the levy for about 20 years until it lapsed two years ago, Dodgion said, because of an “oversight.” The levy was considered for the November ballot, but Dodgion said it was postponed as to not compete with the senior levy.

The senior levy, which would have kept senior programs throughout the county running up to capacity and even adding services and senior centers, narrowly missed a majority vote.

Dodgion said he feels confident that the voters will approve the levy.

“I feel good about it,” he said. “The reason I feel good about it is because it’s such a small amount of money that we’re asking for. For a piece of property worth $50,000, it would cost the homeowner $7.88 a year. So it’s just few pennies a day that we’re asking for. I feel strongly because the career center serves so many of the county’s residents in a positive way. I feel good the voters will vote this in for us.”

This year, the center is serving about 480 high school juniors and seniors, as well as hundreds more adult students in a variety of programs and the levy is needed to maintain the school once its state-mandated renovations are complete.

The renovation project includes expanding classroom sizes about 150 square feet and adding an additional 11,000 square feet to the building to meet code according to the facilities commission.

“For the number of students we’re serving now at the career center, our building is not big enough according to the state,” Dodgion said.

The building, which was constructed in the mid-1970’s, is also in need of other repairs.

“While the facility still really looks good, the infrastructure is crumbling,” Dodgion said. “Our sewage plant, it’s working, but not up to full capacity. Our heating and air conditioning needs a complete overhaul. All the electricity needs redone. The roof leaks.”

The renovation will also modernize the cafeteria.

“The building is old,” Dodgion added. “It’s used 12 months a year. We’re not like the home-schools where we close down part of the summer. We’re open all year long.”

If the levy is not approved by voters in March, the funds would be taken from the school’s general budget.

“I can tell you that this school’s always put the students first and I think voters need to know that not one penny of this money will go towards salaries. It’s going to go to the maintenance set-aside only. It’s a permanent improvement levy and it has to be spent on equipment or maintenance.”

With students from all seven school districts attending CCC, Dodgion said the center has been invaluable to the county.

“I believe we turned, literally thousands, of students’ lives around here at this center,” he said. “I can tell you that those students who come to us from those schools are getting certainly one of the best career technical educations they can get any where in the state of Ohio. There are an awful lot of kids who are walking away as graduates who are making money in the areas they have studied her at our center, who if they had graduated from the home-school, would have to go out and attend some post secondary school somewhere to get the same training. And they are able to get it here in their junior and senior year. It’s literally changed lives, there’s no question about that.”

Dodgion said if the levy doesn’t pass in March, the board will continue to put it before the voters.

“We will continue to put it before the voters simply because my board is adamant that that money should not come out of the general fund that is there to educate kids.”