Supporters of the tax opposition group, which has worked to defeat the district’s three school tax levies in the past two years, have individually contributed $10,000 to begin the fund in a commitment with the athletic department of Lakota schools to help pay for participation fees going into the fall of 2012.
Rich Hoffman, the spokesman for No Lakota, said the effort to start the fund, which began in November 2011, is all about helping student athletes.
“There’s no reason why you have to hijack sports to have negotiations over how to deal with a balanced budget. We just want to have that opportunity to give to these kids and get them out of the crossfire. It’s an unfortunate casualty to this whole levy mess,” he said.
Hoffman and other tax opponents said they believe that if the district focused on reducing teachers salaries and restructuring their labor contracts, eliminating students services and raising participation fees would be unnecessary. During current budget proposals to offset a $9 million deficit, administrators proposed not raising students participation fees, which this year are $550 per sport for high school and $350 per sport for middle school with no individual or family cap.
To obtain more information about the fund go to www.yes-to-lakota-kids.org.
Contact this reporter at (513) 483-5219 or dewilson@coxohio.com.
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