Superintendent Jeff Graham of Lorain City Schools told a candidates forum the district is asking voters next month to renew two levies and stressed they are not new taxes.

“Renewals means no new tax, not additional income to the district,” Graham said. He told the audience that the district recently cut $10,000,000 from its budget and learned in late June that the state would provide $4,100,000 less than previously indicated.

The question matters because the levies fund basic services, staffing and programs. Graham said one of the levies is a combination of levies passed in 1991 and 1992 and that, by law, the district “cannot…collect any more” than the amount originally approved. He added a second renewal traces to February 2013 and that the district has been collecting the same amounts since then.

Candidates at the forum repeatedly returned to the levy as central to the district’s financial outlook. Candidate Devon Marie Jeffers urged community support and said, “Our children's education is very important.” Candidate Mark Ballard II emphasized outreach and transparency as keys to passing measures, saying the district should “knock on doors, get our community to back us up, be transparent with our families.”

Board member Bill Sturgill, who said he has served 16 years on the board, described the financial picture in blunt terms and urged voters to consider the consequences of further cuts. Several candidates and attendees noted that the district’s enrollment rose to about 6,200 students, higher than independent projections of 5,400, a fact Graham cited while arguing the levies remain essential.

No board action or vote on the levies occurred at the forum; the event was a public candidates forum and discussion. Candidates said they would pursue listening sessions, door-to-door outreach and regular updates to explain levy needs and how money would be spent.

If voters decline to renew the levies, candidates said the district would face difficult choices about programs and staffing. Forum participants urged voters to seek information at district meetings and candidate events before the ballot.