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CLEAR Temp: 43 °F Wind: SSE at 7 mph Wednesday, February 5, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend February 2, 2003 Ashland voters have come to the rescue for school sports and extracurricular activities thanks to the passage of levies By DON HUNT Mail Tribune ASHLAND — Fed up with the way state lawmakers were funding school districts, Ashland educators did something unique when they sought to fund athletics and other extracurricular activities in 1993: They went to the city’s voters in the form of a tax levy. It failed that first year. Undeterred, they came back the following year with another proposal, this time sending out pamphlets and canvassing door-to-door through the streets of Ashland. The levy passed the second time around, enabling Ashland schools to fund not only conventional sports such as football, basketball and baseball, but also less traditional activities such as water polo, crew, cross country skiing and snow boarding. Music, debate and drama also came under the levy’s umbrella. Students at the elementary schools began to receive P.E. instruction twice a week. The levy — known as the Ashland Youth Activities Levy — has been a godsend to the Ashland schools since it was first implemented nearly a decade ago. And educators here are keeping their fingers crossed that the newest version, expected to be a five-year, $8.5 million proposal that would cost taxpayers an extra $275 annually on a $200,000 home, will pass again when it goes to the voters in May. The Ashland School Board will meet on Feb. 10 to determine the length and amount of the levy, and the Ashland City Council must agree to place it on the May election ballot. "The good thing it does is, it brings local control into the equation," Ashland athletic director Jim Nagel said. "We’ve had great support on this. "I think it shows that the people of Ashland really value their youth." A small portion of the income generated from the levy — $119,000 out of $1.7 million annually — goes to the city’s senior center, pool and other miscellaneous parks and recreation items. Nagel said that Ashland High School and Ashland Middle School athletics would be in dire straits if the newest levy fails because there is no money from the school district’s general fund currently earmarked for sports. "It makes you a little nervous," he said. "It would be a total disaster." But Nagel is confident it will pass again. "When I’ve gone out and talked to people in the community, most are in favor of it," he said. "Or they’ll say, ‘Hey, I just moved here, tell me more.’" Ashland’s formula is being mimicked in Eugene. That city passed a five-year levy that supports five high schools and eight middle schools. It goes into effect this fall. "If something works, you might as well steal it," said John Lindsley, athletic director at Eugene’s Sheldon High School. Such levies have an inherent flaw, however. If a large portion of a school’s enrollment lives outside the city limits, people aren’t as likely to support it. Only 20 percent of Ashland’s students live outside the city’s boundaries, and they’re charged a user’s fee to play sports. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search M Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy web master feedback A D V E R T I S E R S