Wallace Levy Passes By Just Three Votes

Voters in the Wallace School District have approved a supplemental levy to keep the schools operating at current levels.

The Tuesday vote was 208 yes, 205 no.

“It was a squeaker,” superintendent of schools Frank Bertino said Wednesday. “It won by only three votes, so nobody can say their vote doesn’t count.”

The one-year levy was for $950,000. That represents 19 percent of the district’s budget, Bertino said.

Tuesday’s turnout of 413 was small compared to one in 1995, when 597 voters approved a two-year levy. That was for $675,000 a year.

This levy request was higher because state funding has dropped, and the district has less money carried over into next year’s budget, Bertino.

State funding depends on enrollment, and that is dropping. Now, 783 students attend Wallace schools, about 30 fewer than last year.

, DataTimes