By Jennifer Mrozowski
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Cincinnati Public Schools is considering placing a five-year, $65 million emergency levy renewal on the November ballot.

The school board's finance committee met Wednesday to discuss timing for the renewal, which was passed in March 2000 and expires at the end of this year.

Some board members say waiting longer than November could mean big budget cuts.

If passed, the levy renewal would mean no increase in property taxes. Unlike the $480 million bond issue passed in May to build schools, the money from the renewal levy would be used for operating schools and paying salaries. On a $100,000 home, a homeowner pays $300 annually for the levy now.

Failure to pass the levy in November would affect the 2005-06 budget and force planning for cuts of at least $32 million, half the amount the levy brings in annually, said board member Catherine Ingram, who chairs the board's finance committee.

"I don't think we have any choice," school board member Harriet Russell said.

The district succeeded in four of the last five attempts to pass levy renewals over the last decade.

The district's treasurer, Michael Geoghegan, said the timing of the levy is important because schools begin their individual budgeting in December for the following school year. Budgets are due in January and staffing decisions in schools begin in February.

If the levy doesn't pass in November, the district has to prepare a contingency plan for budgeting, Geoghegan said. The levy now accounts for nearly 16 percent of the general fund revenue of $417 million, he said.

This year's total budget expenditures were $436 million.

The board must decide by July if it plans to place a levy on the Nov. 2 ballot and must file with the Hamilton County Board of Elections by Aug. 19.

E-mail jmrozowski@enquirer.com