Board to pursue PPEL

By Sonja Young
Herald Staff Writer

October 11, 2005 12:22 pm

— CLINTON — Clinton School Board members indicated Monday they will once again ask voters to approve the Physical Plant and Equipment Levy, possibly as early as April.
Proposition D to renew the PPEL at the current rate was defeated by 54 votes during the Sept. 13 school board elections. The voter-approved levy was made up of a combination of a 2 percent income surtax and 24 cents per $1,000 of property valuation.
The PPEL would have provided the school district with approximately $433,000 per year for building repair and maintenance.
School Superintendent Randy Clegg told the board there were no timelines or waiting periods to pursue the passage of the levy again.
“If the board chooses they may do so at any time,” he said.
Board member Jim Bruhn said he would like to see a vote happen very soon with the levy at the same rate put before the voters Sept. 13.
“I’m not sure in the first go-around that people appreciated the need to vote,” Bruhn remarked. “We had a very low voter turnout. I’m not sure that the people who voted represent the majority of people’s opinions on this.”
Board member Debra Olsen pointed out that with Proposition D listed on the second page of the ballot, there was some confusion among the voters.
“There were educated people who could not figure it out,” she said.
Bruhn noted there were 100 people who cast votes for school board candidates who did not cast votes either way for the PPEL.
Board member Bruce Ingham said he was at a loss as to how to convince the public of the need for the PPEL.
“It was needed before and it was a modest proposal for a renewal at the existing rate.”
According to Ingham, the public had a tremendous amount of misinformation, reflected in readers’ letters published in the Clinton Herald.
“I don’t know how much more we can do, as a board, in this community,” Ingham said.
Clegg said the vote needs to be held prior to the first part of April in order to include it into the certified budget for the next fiscal year.
“That would ensure that the income surtax and property surtax will flow uninterrupted,” he explained. “Anything after the first of April, then you will have interruption in your property tax and the year after an interruption in your income surtax.”
Clegg told board members they would have to take into consideration any of the city’s plans for votes in regards to a police station and other projects on their slate.
“We want to make sure we’re not trying to do two campaigns at the same time.”
Board president Jim Tuisl said the board was going to have to attack the levy as a full-blown campaign. “I don’t think we can go with anything less.”