School spending, not vouchers, is the problem

To the Editor:

On March 17, please vote “No” on Issue 26. The problem is school spending, not school vouchers, and here's why: Cleveland Heights already owns the title of highest-tax-burden city in the state of Ohio. We currently give more money to the schools than almost any other school district in Ohio—and we are not wealthy!

This monstrous school levy adds another $415 to the property tax bill of a $150,000 house. This is not sustainable.

And let me say something about Cleveland Heights and why this is so morally wrong: We are an aging city located next to Cleveland and East Cleveland. Our houses are all 100 years old and new families are not moving into our community. We have had a slow but steady decline in population over the past 15 years, and this trend is not going to reverse. This is why it is so morally wrong to burden the taxpayers yet again with more money—that we do not have. The right thing to do for the school system would be to tighten its own belt and control its own outrageous spending!

It is not a voucher problem, it is a spending problem. The city of Cleveland Heights no longer has the income base to sustain yet another school levy. For the sake of the community, please Vote “No” on Issue 26.