It’s common for political campaigns to heat up after Labor Day, and the push to pass the Akron Public Schools’ levy is no exception.
Now, with the levy assigned Issue Number 27 by the Summit County Board of Elections, the Citizens’ Committee – Akron Public Schools is beginning a drive to secure corporate and political endorsements, raise funds and spread awareness.
In total, the two levies, which will be only one item on the ballot, will cost an additional $311.50 annually for Akron homeowners whose homes are valued at $100,000. A single vote will approve both the operating and the construction levies.
One levy included in the measure will be a 7.6-mill operating levy that will raise $25.7 million annually and cost homeowners with an appraised value more than $100,000 an additional $266 each year.
The second 1.3-mill levy for a new North High School would raise $4.4 million annually for 35 years to pay back an $85 million bond. This would be an additional $45.50 each year for homeowners with a home valued at $100,000.
2 months before Election Day in Akron: Committee ramps up strategy
“[Our strategy] is to reach our voters, get out to vote efforts, because it’s one thing to be supportive and positive, it’s another thing to get folks out to vote, ensuring that people are registered, paying attention to the absentee ballot applications,” said Carla Chapman, the chief diversity officer with the district and member of the citizens’ committee.
Specifically, Chapman said the committee is planning a massive social media campaign that will roll out next week; continuing a door-knocking campaign in hopes of speaking with voters and handing out literature; fundraising efforts with private and corporate donors; and a continued presence at public events across the city.
To some extent, the public awareness campaign has already started. Citizens’ committee members have been present at APS events in recent weeks to hand out literature and talk with voters.
“There has been work happening behind the scenes for a couple of months now, and now, with the issue number coming out, we’re ready,” Chapman said. “We’re ready to ramp it up. We’re ready to get going now.”
The citizens’ committee is working to emphasize that the levy doesn’t just impact Akron students and teachers, but the entire community.
“If we don’t have a community that is striving, that is producing children that can read, that can think, that are leaders then we don’t have our community, we don’t have Akron,” said APS Board of Education member Barbara Sykes, who also sits on the citizens’ committee.
Sykes, who is no stranger to elections as a longtime elected official in Akron, said she and others on the committee plan to be outside the Board of Elections’ office, talking to voters, when early voting begins on Oct. 8.
“I tend not to get involved in things for the purpose of losing, but I also get involved because I do believe in it,” Sykes said.
“I know that we need these additional funds in order to keep going in the direction that we need to go in.”
Fundraising to deepen the war chest
Fundraising efforts began recently with the citizens’ committee sending a mailer out to APS employees asking for donations of $15,000, $10,000, $5,000 or $2,500. Chapman said 12 years ago, when the district last asked voters to pass a levy, donations ramped up in September and October.
Chapman said the committee is approaching five figures in the bank, and expects that to increase over the next two months prior to the election.
With increased money in the bank, Chapman said they’ll be able to order more informational materials, buy targeted social media ads and procure yard signs for supporters. The committee has contracted Triumph Consulting, which helped develop its website.
In Akron, levy endorsements stacking up
Beyond fundraising and awareness efforts, the citizens’ committee has been active in securing public endorsements for the levy from organizations across the city.
Summa Health confirmed to Signal Akron it has officially endorsed the levy. Other Akron organizations are expected to announce their support in coming weeks.
“Akron Community Foundation, the NAACP, the Lebron James Family Foundation, all yeses,” Chapman said.
The committee is also working to secure endorsements from several prominent unions in the city, including the Akron Education Association, which she said is voting on the endorsement soon.
The committee’s strategy with endorsements is to announce them publicly one at a time to stay in the news cycle and help garner attention and public momentum.
“For almost 200 years, Akron has been a beacon of education, public education,” said Adam Motter, a citizens’ committee member and a social studies learning specialist who’s been with the district since 1991.
“Generations after generations have literally said, ‘Yes, I know that I want to do my share for the next group.’ And I mean, it’s such a fundamental part of the fabric of this community.”
