Buckeye School District celebrates levy passage, Barberton loses and prepares for cuts

MEDINA, Ohio - It's a tale of two different school levy outcomes for local districts that have battled financial struggles.

In Medina County, the Buckeye School District, which had not passed a levy in 18 years, finally won voter approval and did it in landslide fashion.

3,224 people voted for 7.9-mill levy, with 1,908 people voting against it.

"Having not passed in 18 years and failed 12 in a row, we got to the point where we have cut so much that I think our community just realized it's time," said Buckeye Schools Superintendent Brian Williams.

If the levy would have failed, Buckeye schools would have laid off 57 employees, including 19 teachers. The district was also planning to eliminate hot lunches along with several other programs, including art and physical education.

In Barberton, voters turned down an 8.52-mill levy request.

Barberton School Superintendent Patti Cleary said the failure means the district will dramatically reduce the number of kids who will be able to ride a bus and field trips will be eliminated.

At a school board meeting on Wednesday afternoon, members approved a pay-to-participate policy for sports and other activities, effective for this upcoming school year.

High school students will pay $125 per sport with a $250 maximum cap for the school year. Middle school students will pay $100 per sport with a $200 cap for the year. For this year, there will be also be a $500 family cap.

Cleary said the district has filed paperwork to place another levy on the November ballot, but will seek comments from the community before deciding whether to move forward.

She said the district, which laid off 36 teachers at the end of last year, will be forced to issue more pink slips if a November levy fails.

"It's very serious. We are basically going to have to dismantle all of the great programs. It's not going to be a place where parents are happy with the program," Cleary said.

We'll have more updates from both school districts on newsnet5.com and tonight on NewsChannel5 at 6.