CFOC was not involved in the 2007 election because another group had expressed an interest in working on it.  We support the work of the teachers, the involved parents and their children/students. We are against higher taxes preventing many potential residents from living in our wonderful city, and making it very difficult for many to continue being residents of Cleveland Heights.  The School Board's "Comprehensive Annnual Financial Report" for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010 had total expenditures of $112,091,430.  That figure divided by the total number of students of less than 5,800 comes to slightly over $19,000 per student. The national average is $11,000 per student. That is about $8,000 per student above the national average. It should be noted there are 1,664 full and part-time employees.  Less than 400 are full time regular class room teachers. WE SUPPORT AFFORDABLE QUALITY EDUCATION. THE VOTE ON MARCH 2, 2004 RESULTED IN THE PASSING OF THE MOST RECENT 8.5 MILL LEVY. THE OFFICIAL CERTIFIED COUNT FROM THE CUYAHOGA COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS IS: 8,908 FOR THE LEVY AND 8,279 AGAINST. IT PASSED BY A MERE 629 VOTES. ABOUT 23,000 PEOPLE DID NOT VOTE. CFOC has addressed charges brought against us by the Co-Chair of the Pro-Levy committee. These charges were unfounded. The Charges against CFOC were dropped. CFOC CONTINUES TO BELIEVE THAT LIVING IN THE SECOND HIGHEST TAXED COMMUNITY IN OHIO IS DRAMATICALLY IMPACTING OUR PROPERTY VALUES. WE, TOO. LOVE OUR COMMUNITY AND FIND IT UNFORTUNATE THAT SO MANY SENIORS AND OTHERS WILL BE UNABLE TO CONTINUE TO LIVE HERE AS A RESULT OF THIS TAX INCREASE. WE TRIED TO BE A VOICE FOR ALL WHO LOVE OUR COMMUNITY AND WISH TO STAY HERE, YET ALREADY ARE STRETCHED BEYOND THEIR MEANS. ALTHOUGH THE LEVY PASSED, WE ARE PROUD THAT WE RAISED A LOT OF ISSUES AND BROUGHT TO LIGHT MANY FACTS NOT KNOWN TO MANY STAKEHOLDERS IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM. (We understand that there is another separate organization, Residents' Initiative Voting Alliance (RIVA) that is attempting to repeal the levy. We are not part of that effort. RIVA is an entirely separate and distinct organization, and not part of CFOC.) ***WE WILL NOT GO AWAY. WE WILL BE HERE TO SEE THAT THE CUTS BECOME A REALITY AND WILL CAMPAIGN FOR MORE CUTS THAT CAN AND SHOULD BE MADE*** - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - WHILE THE DEFEAT IS DISAPPOINTING WE RECOGNIZE THE NEED TO ADEQUATELY FUND QUALITY EDUCATION FOR THE CHILDREN OF CH-UH. HIGHER TAXES CONTINUE TO FEED AN OVERPRICED SYSTEM AND WILL NOT HELP INPROVE OUR SCHOOLS. The same reasoning is behind the perpetual scheduling of semi-annual levy votes, in "stealth" elections where turnout is low and levies tend to do better. Such "packaging" of electoral issues betrays a need to manipulate the vote. -CH-UH has 42% more non-teaching positions per student than comparable districts in Cuyahoga County - Administrative staff costs over $ 1,442 per student per year - the 14th highest in the state. There is one administrator for every 128 students. Similar districts have a 173 to 1 ratio and the state average is 180 to 1. - Average Administrator pay in CH/UH is $ 75,107 compared with $ 59,837 statewide. - The 1999 State Auditor's report said 48 non-teaching jobs should be eliminated. TO DATE THIS HAS NOT BEEN ACCOMPLISHED. In fact, the school board has added 120 new jobs since the audit in direct breach of public duty. - We have 15% FEWER students than we did in 1993 but 15% MORE Employees ( 7,216 vs current 6,100 students. And, an estimated 1,136 vs. 986 in employees in 1993) - Our per pupil cost is 50% higher than the national average and 30-50% higher than comparable districts in Cuyahoga County At a time when our economy is down and most of us are tightening our belts, our school system must tighten its belt and focus our limited resources on quality education.

In November, 2002 a PERMANENT 3.8 mill levy was approved by voters, but only by a narrow margin.

In 1999, the state auditor’s office conducted a comprehensive review of the district and recommended eliminating 48 positions and closing one school. Since the 1999 study (based on 97/98 data), the number of FTEs (full time equivalent jobs) has risen by 120 new jobs! On average, a CHUH employee earns $6,719 more than their peers in similar districts, making our payroll one of the most expensive in the state. The average cost per student in the state of Ohio is $9,355. Since this levy has passed, the district will have an additional $10 million of your money per year, for a total annual budget of almost $109 million. That’s $16,259 per student.... nearly $17,000! The answer is NOT more taxes. Spending needs to be capped and funds need to be responsibly redirected from OVERHEAD into the CLASSROOMS.

We are PRO student. We are also for fiscal responsibility. We are willing to pay a fair amount to provide the children of our community a good education. The cost of education has exceeded what the community can afford.