GRAFTON — The Midview Schools Board of Education agreed on a millage amount Sunday for a proposed levy members said is needed to keep the district in the black, Superintendent John Kuhn said.

The board is expected to vote Wednesday evening on whether to put the emergency 10-year, 7.5-mill levy on the May 4 ballot.

“There’s no change in the amount that is currently on the agenda,” Kuhn said, adding that only three residents attended the 12:30 p.m. meeting — a number he’d like to see go up.

“We would really like to have more public input,” Kuhn said.

The board’s treasurer, Floyd Parsson, could not be reached for comment, but Kuhn said he believed it would generate approximately $3 million annually for the district.

“We will finish this year in the black,” he said. “We’ll be very close the following year, and beyond that we’re in trouble. When issues pass, you won’t be receiving the funding until the following year.”

Kuhn said the board is already looking at cuts in services in order to keep ahead of economic trouble down the road.

“We’re putting things in place now to save some money,” Kuhn said. “We’re looking that, if we don’t pass anything in May, we will have a published list of services that will be cut for the 2010-2011 school year.”

If the levy fails, the district will lose employees, Kuhn said.

“When you’re talking about cutting services to students in schools, you’re talking about staff,” Kuhn said. “We’re trying not to affect curriculum as much as possible, but support for instruction may be cut. (If the levy fails), a number of staff positions will be cut next year in teaching and support staff.”

Kuhn is optimistic the levy will pass, but he knows the district has its work cut out.

“We do know times are tough financially for people,” he said. “We do know that. It’s going to be difficult in this economic climate to ask taxpayers for additional money, but we feel we have to in order to provide the best education we can.”

Board members David Zunis, James Barnhart, Kathy Quintiliano, Don Whitesel and Gary Wilson did not return phone calls seeking comment Sunday evening.

Board meeting

The Midview school board will meet at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at West Elementary School.

Contact Alicia Castelli at 329-7144 or acastelli@chroniclet.com.

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