NORWOOD — About 8 percent of Norwood Schools' $21.5 million general-fund budget would disappear Jan. 1 if voters fail to renew a 5.1-mill, five-year emergency levy Tuesday, school officials say.

        The levy has brought $1.75 million in revenue to the schools each year since it was first approved at 8.3 mills in 1992.

        Since then, the millage has gradually dropped as property values increased and new businesses opened in this working-class community.

        Approval of the levy would not increase taxes. The owner of a house with a market value of $100,000 would continue to pay about $165 annually.

        That figure could decrease slightly once collections begin in January, said Superintendent Barbara Rider.

        “Our (fiscal) plan includes renewing this levy,” Ms. Rider said. "If there's a permanent cutback, then we have to cut back on our spending.”

        Now is not an opportune time to cut back on school spending, Ms. Rider said. Improvement on proficiency test scores increased an average of 8 percentage points — the largest gain in Hamilton County and among the top 10 percent in the state, she said.

        And scores on the 2002 Report Card increased enough that the district moved from academic watch (meeting only 11 of 27 standards) last year to continuous improvement this year (meeting 15 of 27 standards).

        Parent Shirley McLain said she volunteered to head the Norwood City Schools Tax Levy Committee, a group working toward passage of the levy renewal, because of the education her daughter received. She also has a son who is a junior at Norwood High School.

        “We have a unique situation here,” Ms. McLain said. “A lot of people were educated here and choose to come back and teach. I think it's a good situation for our children.”

        Not everyone, however, believes the levy is necessary. There has been some anonymous anti-school literature distributed in the city, school officials say. The leaflets have no name or group listed.

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