DAYTON — Dayton Public School’s (DPS) Superintendent David Lawrence spoke to News Center 7 just hours after the city’s chamber of commerce opposed the district’s proposed tax levy.
Lawrence said the timing of this opposition is disappointing, noting that people started voting on the levy more than a week ago.
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The proposed tax levy would generate about $14.7 million a year.
The Dayton Chamber of Commerce released a statement opposing the levy.
They say the district has not been a strong community partner, and that property taxes are already too high.
At a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Lawrence said the district would have to look at making staff cuts if the levy fails.
The chamber also criticized DPS performance, citing the district’s nearly 44% chronic absenteeism rate and only about 67% of students graduating on time.
“We will not be adding administrators. We are simply keeping programming and keeping people to push our progress forward, said Lawrence.” Turning schools around is not something we do overnight."
DPS has not put an additional tax levy on the ballot in nearly twenty years.
Lawrence said the district is open to having more conversations with the Chamber of Commerce.
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