{"id":563949,"date":"2020-11-04T00:16:33","date_gmt":"2020-11-04T05:16:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/?p=563949"},"modified":"2020-11-06T09:10:37","modified_gmt":"2020-11-06T14:10:37","slug":"cleveland-schools-tax-increase-winning-big-even-in-pandemic-recession-averting-massive-cuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/cleveland-schools-tax-increase-winning-big-even-in-pandemic-recession-averting-massive-cuts\/","title":{"rendered":"Cleveland Schools Tax Increase Winning Big Even in Pandemic Recession, Averting Massive Cuts"},"content":{"rendered":"

2020\u2019s KEY EDUCATION VOTES:<\/strong>\u00a0See our full coverage of\u00a0the 46 races that could reshape America\u2019s schools<\/a>\u00a0following Election\u00a0Day \u2014 and get the latest updates on state policies and students\u2019 challenges during the pandemic by signing up for\u00a0The 74 Newsletter<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

A tax increase for the Cleveland schools was on its way to a decisive win Tuesday night, giving the district extra money to handle the COVID-19 pandemic and avert the massive cuts a defeat would have brought.<\/a><\/p>\n

Shortly before midnight, the tax was winning 61 to 39 percent, as voters strongly backed a $23 million tax increase for the district and the continuation of a $67 million tax they first passed in 2012.<\/p>\n

The likely approval comes even as the city has a 15 percent unemployment rate, triple what it was pre-COVID. It also comes despite the first organized opposition to a school tax in decades.<\/p>\n

The tax, the district\u2019s first operating tax increase since 2012, will cover rising costs, as well as pay for efforts to teach students during the pandemic. Among those is continuing to give every student a computer and internet access permanently<\/a>, instead of just making the purchase of computers because of the pandemic a short-term plan.<\/p>\n

The district has given classes entirely online<\/a> this school year. Rising COVID rates recently dashed hopes to bring some \u201cacademically vulnerable\u201d students back to school <\/a>for in-person lessons, including English Language Learners, high school seniors in danger of not graduating and career technical education students who need lab or workshop time to earn industry certifications.<\/p>\n

The district is working with a local non-profit to make internet access almost a public utility that the district can give all of its students. For now, many are using district-paid hotspots for online classes.<\/p>\n

Had the tax failed, the loss of the $67 million tax would have cost the district 12 percent of its operating revenue. It could have forced the district to close 25 of its 100 schools, slash arts and athletic programs and cut staff at schools and the central office.<\/p>\n